Heat
by you-know-its-actually-funny
Summary: When Bruce and Tony attended to a strange outburst which involves Loki losing it and stumbling down the New York streets in his Jotun form, Tony agrees to let him stay at his mansion until they can figure out what's wrong with him. But what Bruce discovers might make Tony regret his decision...
1. I See Blue People

**Me: Fisrt fanfic...wooo.**

**Reader: *CLAP, HAND PLATE OF COOKIES AND THROW CONFETTI IN AIR***

**Readers: I don't care.**

* * *

**1)**

"_There's a blue man walking down the street_."

And if that wasn't the weirdest thing Tony had ever heard in his entire life (and that's certainly medal worthy, mind you), then he didn't know what was. "Say _what_?" Fury sighed on the other end of the phone in that stern voice like he was scolding children.

"_I don't even know, Stark. A fuck load of calls are coming in from the west side of New York that a blue man is walking down the street. Not paint. Legit _blue_. He's freaking people out_."

"And I'm chosen to be Gargamel? "

"_Just get down there and see what the hell is going on_." He hung up quickly and sharply, his last order still ringing in Tony's ear. He scrubbed two fingers over his beard as he craned his head around his living room to lay eyes on Pepper who was tapping away at her laptop on the couch. Without looking up she asked,

"Trouble in the city?"

"As always. Just a little stranger." He strolled over to the door. "I might be awhile. JARVIS?"

"_Yes, Sir?_" came the crisp British voice.

"Tell Happy to prepare the car. And tell him to bring the Mark V."

"_Sending the orders momentarily_."

"Great," he mused, passing through the corridors. He paused. "I love you."

"_Returned affections, Sir_."

"Wow, you even confess love like a boss." Tony made a mental note to role play awkward situations with his AI butler more often. He could really use tips. "Now, to see what the hell Fury's going on about…"

**~O~**

The Midgardians could stare at him all they wanted. He was not going to give a damn. Not. One. _Go ahead. Stare. Hideous, isn't it? Why am I like this again? I don't exactly remember a motive. I'm sure this was a part of some master plan to-_

_Thirstythristyhotits far too hothotohothotwater water waterthirstythirstytoo hottoohot too hot_

The civilians sitting outside a snack café gaped in shock as the man stumbled past. Everyone was gasping, or pulling out their phones and taping it, or just running to get out of his way. Loki, wearing nothing but a plain pair of three-quarter scrappy jeans was tripping and stumbling down the city street, balance off-beat and looking extremely diluted. Oh, and blue. Let's not forget that.

_Thirstyhothothot toohot toohothothotTHRSTYWATER GODS I NEEDWATER_

Two women screamed and quickly leapt from their seats as Loki crashed into their table, red eyes flinching to the tall glasses of water that rested on them. Gasping he reached for one, tipping the other over and letting it smash on the ground. Everyone was going crazy, running away in fear, shouting in surprise or the random teen grinning like an idiot at the form of entertainment. Loki let out a breath of relief as he splashed the water onto his face, limbs becoming less shaky.

_In control. In control. You're in control. Just breath. Get out of here. Teleport. Get out._

The god pushed off the table. The action was almost immediate in its effect to his mind.

_HOT TOO HOT peoplewatchingpeoplewatching needpeopleneedcomfort needtouchneedTOUCH WATERTOOHOT_

"What the fuck is going on!"

"What the hell?"

"Who is that?"

"That's LOKI!"

"He's that dick villain or whatever!"

"Get this on camera dude!"

"What's wrong with him?"

The voices around him were blurred and mixed and didn't make any sense what so ever. Loki stepped forward, attempting to walk only to crash into a wall and, for no justified reason other than to confuse his own mind even more, he begun laughing. Dry laughter, one you knew was fake as soon as you heard it. Insane laughter. He threw his head back as he sunk to the concrete, laughing out until his already raw throat felt like it was bleeding inside. Falling into chuckles and caving in on himself, some idiots decided that he must've been somehow more powerless then he was a few seconds before and begun crowding around him.

"What the hell was that?"

"Why the heck is he blue?"

"Poke him."

"I really think he needs help."

"You wanna help _that_? Fuck it, let's go before the feds get here or some shit."

Loki slowly lifted his head a fraction, mouth shutting tightly and eyes flinching to the people around him.

_Peoplepeoplepeople talktalkingWHYmeneedtouchneedtouchneedsomeoneneedi tNEEDNEEDNEED_

Without warning he quickly lashed out, making everyone scream and retreat a few steps. One particularly slow mortal woman wasn't fast enough and Loki's fingers quickly became latched around her wrist. She let out a scream worthy of dog kennels, tugging fiercely against him. "HELP! SHIT! HE WONT LET GO! HELP ME!"

Loki just seized the opportunity and pressed his forehead against the back of her hand, closing his eyes and relishing the touch.

_NEEDTOUCHneedsomeoneNEEDNEED_

Her face screwed up in a mix between horror and utter confusion and the people around him were more than just freaked out. A few seconds later he felt a sharp pain in his side and his eyes widened to find that the woman had in fact just kicked him. Hard. He choked on a gasp, releasing her and laying a defensive hand upon the now tender skin. She screamed again for good measure and ran off into the back of the crowd. Loki held his head and squeezed his eyes shut, lapping up the short amount of time he had with his in control mind.

_What's going on with me? What's happening? Why? WHY? What's going on? Need to get out-_

A clap of thunder interrupted his thoughts. Almost everyone looked up at the cloudless sky in shock as a few lightening blots split the heavens like a jagged knife. After a few seconds a very familiar figure clad in a scarlet cape landed heavily in the middle of the road, causing a long chain of honks from the drivers. Thor, Mjölnir proudly in hand, stormed towards the crowd. With the little strength that Loki could muster, he pulled himself up onto shaky feet.

"It's Thor!"

"Oh my god!"

"AVENGERS!"

"Fuck he's hot."

"Come get your pissed as brother!"

"IT'S THOR HOLY SHIT."

Many comments like this arose as the crowd parted for the god of thunder to approach his brother. He paused and stared in shock as his eyes met Loki. "Loki…you're…blue…" he frowned deeply. "Why are you in your Jotun form?" Loki tried to form words but his mind was screaming.

_NEEDNEEDNEED toohot too hot need touch needpeopleneedpersonneedHOTTOOneed_

A dry laugh escaped his mouth as he fell forward, Thor catching him with concern written on his face. Two black cars suddenly parked smoothly along the side walk and emerging from them came Tony and Bruce. The first expressions to meet their faces was confusion and shock, ignoring the squealing fans that spoke up from the crowd.

"What the hell…?" Tony mumbled under his breath. Thor gave them a quick glance before his attention returned to Loki.

"Brother, what is wrong? Are you ill?" Loki just grinned, digging his face into Thor's arm and rubbing his cheek against his skin with small chuckles.

Thor looked to Bruce, his face giving the obvious message that he required help. The short man nodded, wiping the confusion off his face and walking up to Loki's side. "I do not understand, Banner." Thor frowned, speaking above the commotion of the crowd. Tony shortly joined them, standing beside Bruce.

"Wow. Nice colour. Put him right on the wall."

"Do you have any idea, Thor?" the god shook his head.

"I do not know what's wrong with him." He said. "Loki avoids goes into his Jotun form, especially around other people."

"I'm sorry, Jotun?" Tony asked with a frown. Thor glanced to Loki who was still burying his face against his skin.

"It is a lengthy tale." Banner reached forward and grabbed Loki's shoulder lightly, pulling him off Thor's in which the god responded with a snarl. He aggressively pushed Banner off and stumbled back, colliding with a wall.

_WANTpeopletoohotbecauseINEEDPE OPLEtouchtouchTOUCHNEEDITneddtouchWATER BURNING_

"Easy, Loki," Banner said quietly, taking small steps towards him. "We just want to help you…" Loki's wide eyes flinched to each one of them, not showing any interest in cooperating with them. Tony shuffled from where he stood.

"Hey, Bruce? I don't want to sound like a major dick right now but he is the god of lies. How do we know that he's not screwing with us?"

"My brother would never lie about this, Stark," Thor hissed. "His Jotun form is something extremely personal to him."

"Not if he's showing it off all over town." Bruce ignored Tony warning, taking another step forward.

"I'm not going to do hurt you, okay?" he kept his tone calm yet in control. He reach a hand forward and Loki pressed into the wall, breathing heavily. Very lightly, as if trying not to snap thread, he placed the back of his hand against his forehead. The reaction was almost immediate and equally as surprising. Loki latched onto Bruce's wrist, pressing his hand deeper into his own blue skin and closing his eyes as if in relief. Tony and Thor both frowned and the crowd was becoming extremely perplexed as the shock of the Avengers has passed on and they were actually getting engrossed in what was going on. Happy and the SHEILD agent that drove Banner were trying to hold them back as best as they could.

"That's very good, Loki," Bruce said a little awkwardly, leading Loki away from the wall.

_TOUCHtouchtouchtouchTOUCHTOUCHtouch touch TOUCHtouch_

Bruce placed two fingers on his wrist whilst keeping his hand firmly on his scalp. "Can you detect what's wrong with him, Banner?" Thor asked hopefully.

"He's extremely over-heated," Bruce reported. "I need water, fast." Tony ducked back into the car, grabbing a half-finished bottle of water and chucking it to Bruce who quickly and impressively caught it with one hand. He twisted the cap off and hovered the bottle in front of Loki. "Loki, I have some water for you. I need you to drink some, you're incredibly over heated-" he didn't need to finish when Loki snatched the bottle up, releasing his hand and quickly chugging it down.

"Holy shit, thirsty much…"

Thor stepped forward.

"Do you feel better now brother?" Loki just stood idly, suddenly still. He abruptly dropped the plastic bottle and a hand went timidly to his stomach. It was a few seconds before he dropped to his knees and was vomiting all over the pavement.

"Shit," Bruce muttered, stepping back.

"I'm guessing that wasn't the reaction you were expecting?" he ignored Tony, kneeling down and placing a hand on Loki's back.

"I don't know. It's not heat stroke, or water deprivation. It's something more, I just can't figure it out."

"Well, do something!" Thor cried, rushing to Loki's side. The smaller god had heaved all that was in his stomach and gasped in a breath.

_BADbadbadNEEDWATER TOUCHHELPMEHELPMEPLEASEsomanypeopleNEED ONE FORMEBECAUSEineed_

Loki collapsed on his side, eyes rolling up. The crowd was a mixture of gasps and concerned comments to sneers. "What's happening?" Thor's voice was urgent.

"Keep his head lifted and to the side, we don't want him choking on his own vomit." Bruce looked up to Tony. "We need to take him to a place where he can rest so I can see what's wrong with him."

"SHIELD." Tony said immediately. "SHIELD will take care of him."

"You know very well of the deeds SHIELD will do to my brother, Stark," Thor seethed.

"I'll have to agree with Thor," Bruce said. "I don't think SHIELD is the best choice."

"Oh yeah, you're right, why don't we just go to the nearest fucking hotel and book him in? 'Yeah, I'd like a reservation for the villain that almost turned this city to shit, please'."

"Tony. Loki is in a too unpredictable state, I need to get him to a place where he can rest." Thor pulled Loki into his lap as his red eyes slowly closed, his blue hand gripping Thor's arm.

"What about your residence, Stark?" As soon as Thor's words hit Tony's ears his eyes went wide with terror.

"HELL. TO. THE. NO. I am not having some crazy, insane god sleeping in my bed. Nah-uh. No way."

"Don't make even more of a scene, Tony. We can't be haste about this."

"_Can't_ be haste about his? It's LOKI, Bruce."

"_I've noticed_, Tony. Now help me get him into the car." Bruce looked Tony in the eye as his sight switched between him and Loki. The billionaire had a thousand snarky remarks and arguments running through his brain at a thousand miles per second. But Bruce was right about the public image and freaking out in the middle of the street wasn't exactly going to help the situation. _Just let the brat lay low at the mansion for a bit, find out what's wrong with him and then he'll be gone._

"…Fine."

Happy pushed the crowd back as Thor carried Loki over to the car, slipping him in the back seat and squeezing his giant form in with him, his head resting on his knee. Bruce gave a quick word to the SHIELD agent to take the car back to headquarters and to tell Fury that they'd make contact in a few hours before sliding into the front seat. Tony quickly leapt into the driver's seat and pulled out onto the road, leaving a rather pissed off Happy on the side walk.

**~O~**

When Pepper opened the door, an anxious Bruce, a pissed off Tony and a passed out blue Loki in Thor's arms was not what she was expecting. She simply stared for a few seconds, her mind trying to process what was in front of her. Tony scratched his head nervously.

"Hey, Pep-"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" she screeched.

"Trust me on this, we do have an explanation." Pepper's eyes went wild with confused anger.

"An _explanation_? Tony, that's LOKI! And he's-" she squinted her eyes before her mouth dropped open. "He's _blue? _Why is he _blue_?"

"We don't know," Bruce said calmly, stepping forward. "We promise you answers but right now we need to get Loki inside so we can see what's wrong with him. I swear to you he's harmless." He bit his tongue at the half-lie. Yes, Loki wasn't exactly completely destructive right now but he was unpredictable, and the faster they got him secured the better. She stuttered on her words but before she could protest Thor gave her the glorious puppy dog face.

"Please Miss Potts." He held Loki a little closer. "Something is wrong with my brother." She looked to Thor, still lost on the situation but quickly melted at the distress in his usually in control face. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Okay, okay, but I _really_ need to be updated on information." Tony nodded, pushing through and leading the others through the halls to a spare guest room.

"_Sir, you have the world's most wanted criminal in your residence_."

"_Thank you_, JARVIS," Tony snapped, opening a door and letting Thor in to lay Loki on the bed. "Fury called us in on the situation. A lot of calls had been coming on from the west side of the city mentioning that a 'blue man' was freaking people out." He begun explaining to Pepper, who stood by the door way and nervously fidgeted. "Bruce and I arrived a bit after Thor did, but from what we saw…" he shook his head with a frown. "I dunno, Loki was just…off. Lost the plot or something. I mean, I know he was bat shit crazy before, but… "

Bruce kneeled down and placed a hand on Loki's forehead, sighing when the same results as last time came up – he was extremely over heated. Thor's brows scrunched with concern. "Can you detect anything?" Bruce breathed through his nose, leaning back.

"I still don't know. We need to at least get the air-cons on at full blast and wait until he wakes up to take any real notes on his behaviour. I might have to take a blood test." Tony nodded.

"You get that JARVIS?" A low hum and a cool breeze that suddenly lit up the room was their answer.

"So will he be okay?" Pepper asked, frowning. Bruce and Tony shrugged in unison. Pepper just looked at Loki and at Thor who was softly running a finger down his face. "Thor, why don't you come down to the kitchen and have some coffee?" Thor took a while to glance up, but nodded never the less and left the room with the others. Walking into the kitchen JARVIS automatically turned on the coffee machine and Bruce and Tony sat down at the table, Tony wiping a hand over his face.

"Jarvis, can I get a security screen of Loki's room up at all times?"

"_Right away Sir_." JARVIS responded and within seconds a screen showing Loki flickered on by the wall.

"So you all have absolutely _no idea_ what's going with him?" Pepper asked, getting out mugs and spoons.

"No clue," Tony shook his head.

"Let's look at the facts," Bruce spoke up. "Thor, you said that Loki avoids going into his…what form?"

"Jotun form," Thor mumbled. "And yes. He has a particular disliking to it."

"So maybe he was forced into it?" Tony suggested. "He looked like he was fighting something in his mind." Thor shook his head.

"Loki is a powerful sorcerer, no one can simply control him."

"And he wasn't looking for trouble." Bruce pointed out. "When Thor arrived he seemed almost willing to go with him."

"So maybe he's poisoned?" Tony urged, trying to get to the bottom of this. Bruce nodded, rubbing his thumb over his chin.

"That's a good possibility." Thor scowled.

"Someone has poisoned my brother?" he seethed, gripping Mjölnir's handle attached to his belt. "I swear on his name they will pay."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves-" Tony was cut off by a caller ID coming up on one of the screens.

"_Sir, Nick Fury of SHEILD is on the line_." The billionaire cringed, hit his head on the table a good three times and then pressed 'ACCEPT'.

"Sup boss?"

"_Stark, I've been informed that you, Thor and Banner took Loki into your own custody_."

"Yeah, what of it?"

"_I think we both know what's wrong with that. I need you to report Loki into SHEILD_ _HQ now_."

"Sir," Bruce cut in, "Loki is stable here. There's no need to-"

"_Dr Banner, he is the most wanted criminal in the world and just minutes ago caused havoc in the city. I need him in SHIELD custody now or else the Counsel is gonna be out slitting throats_." They all shared glances, Thor glaring at the screen as if it was a deadly predator. Tony chewed his bottom lip for a few seconds.

"Lemme put you on hold."

"_Stark_-" Fury didn't get to finish before he was silenced with a press of a button.

"JARVIS, put on some soothing music for him while he waits, he'll love that."

"_On it, Sir_."

"Okay," Bruce said. "What are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we can do," Tony sighed. "You heard Fury. We have to turn Loki in." Thor took a threatening step forward.

"No. I will not let any harm come to my brother."

"There's going to be a lot more shit going down if we defend him, Thor." A fist smashed down on the table in enraged fury.

"NO! I will not allow it!"

Pepper watched the argument break out between them and massaged her temple as a head ache formed. She still had barely any idea of what was going on from the small pieces of information that Tony had given her, but she didn't have much time to sort the pieces out when her eyes caught some movement from the security screen of Loki's room. Loki was awake and was squirming uncomfortably on the bed, scrunching the covers until half of it draped to the floor. She bit her lip when she looked to the three still fighting. "Hey, HEY!" They all turned to her with anger burning in their postures. "Loki's awake, so why don't we quickly get some more information about his state before Fury probably comes bursting through the doors, okay?" Bruce was out of his seat before she even finished, eyeing the monitor as Loki stumbled to his feet.

"My apologies, Lady Pepper," Thor nodded respectfully. "I get anxious about my brother. That was out of line."

"It's fine Thor," Pepper smiled sweetly and they all crowded around the screen. Bruce adjusted his glasses.

"I'm going to go in and take a blood test."

"Pricking Loki with pointy things might not go over very well with him right now," Tony murmured. "I'll come for back up." As if to prove his point he slid out a small palm reactor like the flight stabilizers on his suit, only smaller and stand-alone, which he had hid in case he ran into trouble in New York. Bruce nodded and left Pepper and Thor to eye the screen and walked down the hallways until coming to Loki's room. "There's a first aid kit in the closet. You'll find a needle in there." Tony told. Bruce nodded and entered the room with him trailing behind. The cold air bit into their skin like a snake.

_Speaking of snakes_…Tony narrowed his eyes at Loki who was eyeing them from his swaying post in the middle of the room. He didn't seem to be ready to attack, but an unnerving look was in his eye. Bruce scurried to the smooth closet door and opened it, easily finding the large red and white aid kit. Tony raised an eyebrow to Loki and lifted his little palm reactor to his head as a threat. "Yeah, see that? Try anything- BOOM."

"How much stuff do you have in here?" Bruce grumbled, pulling out a packet of Wiggles Band-Aids and pink florescent braces bands. Tony shrugged, turning to face him and lowering is arm.

"I dunno, I haven't had to use most of my guest rooms. Try looking in the Hanna Montana pocket bag."

"The Hanna Montana- what? Are you serious?"

"Hey I had a refined taste, okay-" he was abruptly cut off when he felt cool breathing on his shoulder, reaching out with icy fingers and sending shivers down his spine. He jumped when he turned to see Loki merely inches from his face and took a step back, holding his weapon up. "Whoaaaa buddy. Nuh-uh, not playing any games with me. Nope." Loki smiled manically for a few seconds before his attention drew to Tony's hand.

Tony had to admit, Loki's Jotun form was breathtaking now that he got a good look at it. _What do those markings mean? It'd be awesome to decipher them some time. And his eyes_...Tony swallowed hard, not able to look away once making full eye contact. Loki's mouth was lightly open showing off his more pointed teeth and he was breathing heavily. He swayed dangerously before he pulled an expression of pain.

And then he grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him towards him.

The man yelped and went to fire at him only for Loki to bend his wrist downwards, aiming it at the floor. Loki wrapped his slender fingers around Tony's forearm and opposite shoulder and pressed his forehead against his bicep, sighing in relief. Tony's eyes were huge and he was shocked on the spot. He wasn't…_attacking_ him, he doesn't think. But it severely creeped him out. Especially when he begun to rub is cheek over his skin, purring in response. _Just had to wear a shirt today…_

"Uhhh, Bruce? You wanted strange behaviour. Now you have it." Bruce turned around with a needle finally in his hand only to stop short at the sight in front of him. He frowned slowly, walking up to them.

"Well…that is…interesting," he mumbled, preparing the needle.

"_Interesting_? It's fucking creepy, get him off me."

"If I remember correctly, you came to be _my_ back up."

"Yeah, well you're the one who moulded him into the ground last time you met."

"Well I can't help you, he seems to like you and it's keeping him calm." Tony pulled a face and lifted his arm as far away from him as possible as if the limb didn't belong to him. Bruce smirked and delicately placed his hand on Loki's shoulder, sliding the needle through his skin and sipping up enough blood for a decent examination. Loki grunted when it pierced his skin but otherwise had no reaction. "That should do it." He smiled, stepping back and appreciating the look on Tony's face.

"Fan_tastic_."

"_Sir, you have several SHIELD vehicles approaching. Nick Fury I believe is among them_." Tony had to stop the smile from creeping onto his face but Bruce caught the corner of his mouth lift. He gave him a look before their eyes widened in unison.

"THOR."

"I'll go-"

"No, you stay with Loki." Before Tony could argue Bruce ran out the room. He sighed and looked to Loki who was slowly edging closer to him while caressing his shoulder. His face was the picture of perfect content. _Oh, glad someone's enjoying themselves_, Tony growled in his head, before realizing the fact that Loki was technically enjoying _him_ but quickly shuddered the thought out.

Bruce entered the kitchen just as Thor was ready to storm out with Mjölnir gripped in his fist. Pepper was no longer present. He ran over to him and pushed I'm back. "Thor! You can't hurt them, okay? SHIELD are the good guys-"

"But my brother is not." Thor said, not intent on stopping.

"_Sir, I believe I am being hacked into letting them in_." No sooner than JARVIS said the words the door burst open and Nick Fury stomped in with several SHEILD agents by his side. His face looked seconds away from blowing off.

"What the absolute HELL is going on." It wasn't a question. Bruce stepped forward, glad that Thor hadn't punched anyone yet but still weary at the glare he was holding.

"Fury-"

"Where. Is. He."

"He is safe, away from you," Thor seethed. Fury looked at him challengingly.

"Oh really? He'd be even more _away from us_ if you took him back to where he came from, wouldn't he? You had no right to take him into your own custody." Now Thor really looked like he was about to artlessly drop his hammer on his skull. Bruce pushed him back.

"Sir, I know we took one of the most wanted criminals without authorisation but Loki is stable here. We're on our way to figuring out what's wrong with him."

"If there's something wrong with him then he's not stable, Dr Banner. Do you even have power restraints on him?"

"Power restraints?" Thor asked with narrowed eyes, oblivious to the small project that Tony and Bruce had worked on after the Chitauri attack.

"No-"

"Then he could blow at any minute." He turned to the five agents standing around. "Check all the rooms, Banner and Stark are no longer in charge." Fury barged down the left hall with the agents at his tail, leaving Thor and Bruce behind. Kicking the doors open as they passed Fury ran into a very startled Pepper who's eyes widened.

"Whoa, wait, what's going on?"

"Apologies, Miss Potts," Fury said carelessly, stepping past her until coming to the spare bedroom where Loki and Tony were. Bruce quickly rushed past the agents who knew not to try and stop him in case the tension built up and they would have another problem on their hands, a very large and green one at that. He slid in front of the door and faced Fury's harrowing glare.

"Sir, I have a proposition-"

"Denied."

"I can't let you take Loki like this!"

"Or what, Banner?" Bruce dropped his polite posture and matched Fury's glare. The director caught the slightest glimpse of green burning in his eyes.

"Then I'll see if you would accept the _Other Guy_'s offer."

Every agent swallowed. Thor was standing at the end of the corridor with his hammer still in hand and Pepper looked anxious.

Fury's nostrils flared up but Bruce wasn't having any of it. They were supposed to be a part of a team, and no matter how dangerous the criminal was they couldn't lose their heads to urgency. "Fine, Banner." He bit out at last and backed up a bit. He gave him a gesture. "What is your proposition?"

"You can take Loki back to SHEILD Head Quarters-" he ignored the flare up in Thor's eyes, "but _I_ will be running tests on him, no-one else. Until we find out a way to fix him then he will be treated as a patient, but with obvious security surveillance."

"And when he's 'cured' of this 'illness' you seem to be certain he has, then what?"

"Then he's in your custody."

"No!" Thor cried. Fury nodded at Bruce.

"Only if you have power restraints on him also." Thor was ready to charge.

"I won't let you do any harm to my brother!" he declared. Fury turned to him with raised palms in surrender.

"We're not savages, Thor. If you wish to take him back to Asgard after Bruce is done with his testing, then we will let you. But with the promise that he _won't be coming back_." He explained the last part through gritted teeth. Thor backed down a bit, eyes flinching to the agents with an affronted expression but softly nodded.

"Good. Now that everything is out of the way-" he turned to the agents and nodded to the door, "Let's wrap this up."

Tony shot his head up when the door swung open. He was wondering what all that yelling was. Five agents burst through the doorway with weapons at large, most faltering the second they entered when they got a look at Loki's blue skin. Loki's eyes narrowed ferociously, his red eyes burning holes through their skulls as his nails dug into Tony's skin.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow OW!" Tony whined, trying to scamper away only for Loki to grip tighter onto his arm and pull him closer. "Don't shoot me!" he yelled to the agents. "Kill me and I'll haunt your asses. You think I'm annoying now, wait till I'm dead." One agent slinked to the side and shot a razor thin dart into Loki's shoulder. The god hissed and released Tony, stumbling backwards into some dressing tables by the wall. Tony quickly ran to the door way and lifted his mini reactor up to follow his every move. Loki scratched the dart out but was already becoming woozy and almost fell, gripping the dresser for balance. When a few agents began to step forward they had to quickly duck when Loki threw the entire thing at their heads.

"Crap." Tony leapt to the side when it went splintering into the wall next to him. Loki sunk to his knees, moving on to the next piece of furniture, a bed side table, but only had the energy to uselessly scrape the edge of it before falling to the carpet. Two agents walked up, more cautiously this time, and knelt down next to him. Loki reached up weakly to knock them off, but his eyes were already half closed. A few seconds later he was completely out and the agent motioned for the other to move him into one of the SHIELD vans.

Bruce, Tony, Thor and Pepper stood outside the mansion as the van containing Loki sped off down the road headed for the SHIELD Head Quarters. Fury and the last agent prepared the next car. "I'll meet you all there," Thor said, refusing the ride and instead swung Mjölnir and boosted into the sky, soon disappearing into the clouds.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Pepper asked, biting her bottom lip. Tony patted her shoulder, smiling.

"Nah, we'll be fine." He and Bruce piled into the vehicle and Fury gave them one last glare before climbing into the front seat.

**~O~**

Loki was strapped to a table in one of the labs at SHIELD HQ. His fore arms, wrists, ankles, legs, mid-section, chest and shoulders were all bound and he had power restraints on his wrists. Even for Loki, Bruce thought it was a little ridiculous. The only ones in the lab right now were Tony and Bruce, but they soon saw Thor walking briskly in the hall. He entered the lab with concern.

"Those darts didn't hurt him, did they?" he asked.

"Just a sedative," Tony waved the question off. "A shit load to sedative. He'll probably be out for another hour or so." Thor nodded. Bruce pulled out all the control panels in the room, bringing up Loki's heart rate, temperature and basic health.

"He's still breathing too fast," Thor frowned, stepping closer to his brother. "And I cannot fathom why he's still blue."

"We'll find out soon, Thor, don't worry. All that's wrong right now is his temperature and I've got the table cooling him and providing some air." Bruce pulled out the blood sample from before and tipped it into a scanning vile and pressed a few buttons here and there before the analysing began. He clapped his hands together, turning to Tony leaning on the wall and Thor softly stroking Loki's forward. "Okay. Now we just simply wait." Thor nodded but didn't lift his gaze.

"So, why is reindeer games back from Asgard anyway?" Tony asked. The thunder god sighed, folding his arms.

"Loki's punishment was being discussed by the Council and the Allfather at the time. Loki was out of prison and had fled the Realm before the judgement could even be decided. I do not know how he did it, but I believe he may have had some assistance, someone other than the Chitauri." He swallowed. "I fear what father will do with him now that he's added to his many crimes." Tony whistled.

"Your family has a lot of problems."

"We're trying to heal the gaps in our relationships. But there is many." Bruce turned to the monitor screen when the analysing was complete and began scanning over the information while Tony and Thor talked.

"And I'm guessing tall, blue and angry is the biggest gap?" Thor shook his head.

"Loki's actions were the result of all our wrong doings, including mine. I only wish to see him healed, whether in Midgard or Asgard." His hands gripped. "And yet here he is, probably poisoned, and I can do nothing. Again."

"Uhhh…" They both looked up at Bruce. "He's not poisoned, Thor…" Thor frowned, stepping closer.

"Then what is causing him to act this way?" Tony stepped up next to Bruce, narrowing his eyes at the monitors.

"Uhhhh…how do I explain this…um, Loki's going through an Estrus cycle…" Tony's eyebrows reached the roof of his head but Thor only frowned.

"A what?"

"Uhhhh…okay, um, when animals go through this stage of the cycle, they release certain gonadotropic hormones into their system which makes them have certain…cravings…" Thor's frown only deepened with each word.

"Please use English, Banner." Bruce slowly turned to face Thor, fidgeting.

"Loki's in heat."

And then Tony was on the floor laughing.


	2. We May Have A Problem

**Thanks to all the reviews so far :D I'll try and update at least every week if I actually do anything productive after school *opens 50th internet tab***

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**2)**

"Okay, so this obviously changes the game a little…" Fury paced the briefing room with hands behind back. Tony kicked his legs up onto the table next to Banner and Thor was standing by the wall, looking like he was still processing the information given him.

"Yep." Tony had to keep himself from giggling. "Always knew he just had to get laid. Now he's finally getting the message."

"This isn't a time for jokes, Stark," Fury sighed in a tired tone.

"Are you kidding me? This is comedy gold."

"Either way," Bruce said, shifting Tony's legs so they weren't so much in his face, "we have to consider all of this. Firstly, Thor?" The god blinked a few times as if woken from his day dreams and looked up with questioning hum. "Do you know anything about Jotuns? Specifically their reproductive system?" He shook his head, awkwardly shuffling on his feet.

"No. In Asgard we didn't really learn anything about the Frost Giants." Fury wiped a hand over his face.

"Great. Just great. So we know nothing about it, don't know when it's going to end or what to do about it."

"Pretty much." They all looked at each other with raised eye brows. Thor stepped forward.

"Considering the situation, would it be safe to take Loki with me back to Asgard? Or would be have to remain here under Banner and the director's deal?" Banner teethed his bottom lip and tapped on the table in thought.

"I think it would be best to keep Loki here for a little longer. Maybe we could pick up on a few more behaviour traits. It might even end by then." He looked to Fury for approval. He rubbed the crease in his forehead , but nodded.

"As long as you keep him under control, then only for a few days at most. And Tony, if you do anything to set him off, then you're no longer apart of the project." Tony raised his hand up with a modest expression.

"Hey, blue's not even my type anyway."

"What about Steve? And are Natasha and Clint in on this?"

"Steve has been informed and Agent Barton and Romanoff are off on a mission in Africa, last time I heard. They've been sent the message, but they will remain where they're needed." Banner nodded.

"Good. I don't think Clint would be very happy to hear that Loki's back on earth."

"I dunno, hate-love relationships-"

"Tony. Please." The billionaire looked to Fury's glare and stuck his bottom lip out, drawing an invisible halo around his head.

Fury face palmed.

**~O~**

_AIRAIRBREATHE coolcoldshiveringTOUCHTOUCHNEEDNEEDTOUCHWATER HOT BURNING COLD SHIVERING-_

Loki woke with a start. He would've bolted upright if it hadn't been for the straps across almost every part of his body. He frowned and gritted his teeth, trying to control his breathing and letting his head flop down onto the (bed? Table?). He coughed and flinched as he took in his surroundings. Lab. Definitely lab. There were screens lighting up the walls and black tinted windows to the far left. He was rested on a table and other small side tables on wheels were pushed to the side. No-one was around and the lighting was dim.

His eyes grew scared for a split second. _What have they done to me? How did I get here?_ He gathered from the labels slapped everywhere that he was inside the SHIELD building in New York. He closed his eyes and took a moment to calm himself._ Shhhh, don't lose control over the situation, Loki. Just teleport out of here. _He nodded to himself and gripped his hands into tight fists and forced a surge of power to flow through him, thinking of a destination. _I should give up on America. Britain seems nice._

A wave of unbearable fire suddenly ignited in his body and Loki withered against the restraints, crying out. After it passed he took a moment to gasp heavily, head in a daze. He growled and glanced to a pair of metal bracelets snapped round his wrists. Power restraints. He cursed to himself for not looking closer.

He flinched when the lights above him snapped on and he heard footsteps outside. The lab door opened and a familiar voice arose. "I see you've tested out our new bracelets," Tony said, walking over to the side and leaning against the wall. Loki twisted his head to get a look at him and he stared at him for a while, not responding which was definitely not because he felt completely vulnerable at the moment and that even the notorious Tony Stark had become a threat to him. Tony didn't seem fazed and continued talking. "We designed them after you and Thor took a trip back to Asgard. What did you try to do, teleport? Yeah, thought you might. Set a bet up with Bruce- he thought you might of tried to melt the straps but-"

"What am I doing here?" Loki asked, his voice coming out tiny and dry and he wanted to slap himself for sounding as small as he felt.

"We found you wondering around New York in your…god, what was it?...Jotun form? Yeah, that's it, the colourful blue thing." This made Loki jolt in shock as soon as the word hit his ears. That one word that made him cringe with feeling and then want to vomit because he still _felt_ and he could feel the scars appear below the skin. He quickly looked down to himself and slumped in relief at the pink instead of blue meeting his eyes. Tony must've caught the sudden change in the air because his voice changed into one a tinge more sincere. "You don't remember anything?" Loki swallowed, hard.

Thirsty and needing water, _desperate_ for water, needing snow and ice and seeing blue and wanting nothing more than someone to hold him and then the scent of whisky and overdosed cologne and warm breath and skin.

His eyes widened and he stared blankly at the roof. There was a long moment of silence. "I'll take that as a no." He heard hands- two warm, sweet smelling hands- dust together as Tony strode across the lab and stood closer to Loki who inclined his head to stare. "I suppose I should give you a heads up. You're in heat."

Green eyes burned into brown.

"…what?" _In heat? Wait, isn't that what _animals_ go through_? Surely he must be joking, he seemed in the perfect position to be mocked and it was so like Mr Stark to leapt to the occasion. Yes, he was smirking. Of course it was a jest.

He repeated, a gleeful glint in his eye. "In heat. You know, in season, a la need of le sexy times-"

"I understand the term," Loki managed to sound like his normal snarling self. "You can quit with the jest."

"Jest? You think I'm joking? Bruce took a blood test after you pranced down the street and the results came up that same as it would a dog. I'm not joking."

Loki stared for a good minute, searching for the lies in his eyes and face and _please be a lie, please be a lie_. True, Loki had always been eager to learn about different Realms in his youth and Jotunhiem had always been at the bottom of the list of enthusiasm, but he thought it no harm when in Midgard to re-read a few pages from their history. He _was_ Jotun after all and no matter how many times he wished the fact away it was only logical to learn about his true form_. In heat_. He could scarcely remember it now but at that moment he did know that Tony was in fact _not_ jesting.

"..._damn_…" He insufferable man- why did he suddenly smell so good?- chuckled at him. "Dammit, dammit, _dammit_…" he would've covered his face with his hands from the mere humiliation of it all. He was in heat, no better than an animal and put on display to be laughed at. _But how could you expect anything different but to __**be**__ different, Loki?_

"Hey, no need to be so glum about it, this is supposed to be a pleasant time for you, I'd expect."

"Stark, if you don't stop talking then I'll personally rip your tongue out and replace it with your own searing flesh."

"Whoa, this suddenly got violent," Tony raised his hands up as if he was expecting a civilized conversation with his enemy. Loki rolled his eyes and unintentionally sparked a very unneeded head ache. He groaned and stupidly almost tried to lift his hand to his face to aid his temple. Tony obviously took said groan the wrong way. "Ooo, innocent play working for ya? I can roll with that." The god didn't even bother with replying when a wave of vicious heat pulsed through him like someone was pumping lava through his veins. He arched his head back and let out a startled gasp. Tony quirked an eyebrow. "Working _that_ well for you? Damn you must be horny."

"I'm in _pain_, you ignorant fool!" He heard a shuffle of feet and savoured the few seconds when Tony wasn't spitting out snarky remarks.

"Yikes, you're temp's spiked right up…" Another wave of heat occurred, more intense this time. Loki could bite down the whine that escaped his lips. Tony twirled around to his sweaty forehead and rapidly rising chest. "Shit, um, what do you need?"

"Water!" his voice came out raw and scratched at his cords. Tony nodded quickly and in a few seconds a plastic cup was being held above his lips. He raised his head as far as it would go and quickly slurped at the edge, groaning until Tony finally got the message to tip it further. Stupid mortal. He didn't care for the drips that spilled down his bare neck and finished the drink in about three seconds flat. He let his head fall ungracefully onto the table and relished the feel of the cool liquid sliding down his throat. His moment of content was ruined by Stark (of course, what was he expecting) and his face of ultimate regret. Loki slowly frowned. "…What?"

"I…actually probably maybe shouldn't have given you that…" he said slowly. Loki glared.

"Please tell me that was water."

"No, it was, it's just we gave you water before and-"

Squirming, puncturing, shrivelling. His stomach had suddenly turned against him and it felt like all nine rings of hell had unleashed in his gut. His eyes rolled up and he moaned, trying to cave in on himself but the restraints keeping him from doing so. He barely heard the lab doors slide open and another pair of feet pad on the smooth floor as he felt the sour vomit rise in his throat.

"Bruce! Help, I gave him water and-"

"You _what_?"

A loud gurgle answered him question and Loki leaned his head over the table as he hurled. Luckily he felt someone removing the horrid straps and he almost rolled off the table, landing on his hands and knees and throwing up all over the floor. His eyes watered and he felt a stab of fear when blood began to drip into the mix. He finished in loud coughs that tore apart his throat and sat against the leg of the table, holding his weak stomach. He finally looked up to the second Midgardian in the lab. Dr Banner. AKA, the green beast that pummelled him into Stark's floor. The doctor kneeled down in front of him.

"How do you feel?"

"Ravishing, doctor," he spat back. Bruce frowned and reached forward, making Loki snarl and bat his hand away. "Keep your hands_ off me_."

"I promise you it'll make you feel better." Loki frowned deeply and Bruce shrugged. "It seemed to help you out before." This time Loki flinched when he reached for his forehead, but didn't attack. As soon as they made contact Bruce's eyes flinched nervously and waited for something to happen. The beads of sweat on Loki's forehead didn't stop dripping down his pale face and his breathing didn't diminish. No reaction. Bruce frowned, slowly shaking his head and Loki raised an expecting eyebrow.

"That…doesn't make any sense…" he turned to Tony, the clogs turning in his mind. "Tony, come here."

"What?" he and Loki said in unison.

"Just come here."

"Why?" Bruce rolled his eyes and snatched his wrist, pulling him down onto his knees next to him. Before Loki could even react Stark's hand replaced Bruce and…

Explosion.

_TOUCHTOUCHtouchtouchTOUCHTOUCHtouchtouchtouchtouch TOUCH_

Everything suddenly pulsed with energy, with pleasure, with urgency. He saw flashes of blue and snow and felt warm, safe, needed. Tony's scent filled his nose and he found himself magnetised to it. Skin, warmth, touch, blue, _Stark_.

Tony was especially freaked out this time. Loki was staring at him, his pupils so wide that he could only just make out a tiny slither of green and white surrounding them and his breathing had excelled to an impossible rate. He quickly stepped back, bringing his hand away. "Creepy, creepy, _creepy_," he shuddered. Loki slowly slid out of his daze and blinked against the heat that returned to his body, droplets of sweat running down his cheek. Bruce sat back, stroking his chin.

"Okay, so it only works with Tony now."

"You don't know that," Tony interjected. "Maybe it was a one off."

"We're talking about one of the most instinctual cycles in all living creatures Tony. I think Loki's body knew what it was doing." Loki rubbed his temple, trying to gain control of his mind.

"What…w-what was that…?"

"You tell us," Bruce said. "What happened when Tony touched you?" The god swallowed, eyes raking over said billionaire. He couldn't exactly…_explain_ it. To put it simply in one word: want. That's what he felt. Want. Want for Tony. A heavy blush reddened his cheeks and he quickly decided to stare at the floor instead. That seemed a good enough answer for Bruce. "And you felt nothing when I touched you?" Loki squeezed his knees to his chest as if it would shield him from his embarrassment and vulnerability. He shook his head. Bruce nodded but Tony's eyes widened in realisation. "Okay."

"Okay? Do you know what this _means_?" Loki officially decided to cave into himself and dropped his head down and covered his head with his arms_. If I can cover myself away completely, I'll disappear into the floor_. Such wishful thinking. Bruce was the only one in the room who was looking at the whole situation surprisingly lightly.

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed about- it's a subconscious decision."

"That's even worse, Bruce!" Tony growled. "Loki's in heat and I- I end up being…" he performed what looked like a full body epilepsy attack, shivering as if bugs were crawling under his skin.

"Well I'm sorry, _Stark_," Loki spat, glaring from his cocoon, "but I can't exactly help it." Tony groaned and wiped his face over, starting to pace. Bruce sighed, shaking his head.

"You are taking this way to dramatically, Tony."

"Like hell I am."

Bruce rolled his eyes and gave his attention to Loki instead. "Loki, do you know anything about the Jotun reproduction cycle?" He inwardly grimaced and felt the heat rise in his cheeks again to be reminded that he was discussing something quite personal with some of his rivals. Still, no one looked like they would be firing at each other anytime soon and the doctor at least could be of some help to him. Loki shook his head.

"I only briefly had scanned over some of the history recently. Nothing useful comes to mind." He glanced up to him. "Do…do you maybe…" he swallowed and paused at the awkwardness of asking a former enemy for help. "What would be your verdict on the whole situation, doctor?" A moment of silence passed as Tony's footsteps stopped but Bruce smiled and Loki felt the tightness in his chest loosen a tad.

"Well I hate to be rude but the only comparison I can make right now is to some Midgardian animals. Larger mammals spend a whole season in heat while other species come out of it as soon as they birth their own off-spring." He got another reddened face from that comment. "But all I can really tell from you right now is that you need a certain amount of human contact or your body reacts very dangerously and that you have 'heat sessions' where your conscious mind is compromised. I'm also guessing that Jotuns imprint on their mates. That's why you were…getting very friendly with Tony." Loki's whole face had turned a shade of crimson and he shuffled his posture.

"So," Tony said, squatting down and crossing his arms tightly. "Let's hope that Jotuns don't need a ton of little Loki's running around before their crushes end, then."

"Yes," Loki glared at him, "lets."

He wanted nothing more than to punch his smirking face and then taste his sweet smelling neck.

**~O~ **

Thor quickly stormed through the halls of the Head Quarters, passing by agents until spotting Bruce and Tony exiting the lab. He approached them with concern. "My brother, is he-?"

"He's fine Thor," Bruce assured, closing the lab and locking it with a security card. "I thought it would be best for him to rest so I gave him some sedatives- they're harmless, don't worry- and he's sleeping."

"But he woke?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, and we've got a lot to update you with," Tony muttered. Thor stared at them, waiting for them to continue.

"Well? Can I take him back home?" Bruce and Tony glanced to each other.

"We're not sure of many details about his condition, but there might be some risk. Loki's imprinted on Tony-"

"He's _what_?" the thunder god's voice had a punch of venom to it and Bruce held his hands up- '_let me explain_.'

"It's usual for something like this to occur during season, Loki has just chosen a mate. Completely natural."

"What, with-with _Stark_?"

"Subconsciously, Thor."

"Never hit on your brother, I swear. And I didn't plan to. But you know, I am quite popular with the ladies so you can't really blame him for choosing me."

"Tony, _really_ not the time." Thor's stare burned through them.

"I think it best I take Loki back to Asgard in the morning. Before his instincts can…" he gave a judging glare in Tony's direction. "Go any further."

"Totally agree." Tony nodded quickly. "Yep. Yep, good. Great, even."

"Bruce?" Thor looked to the doctor.

"Why is everyone leaving the decisions up to Bruce?" Tony growled. "What are you, a fucking oracle?"

"I would like to run a few more tests on him…" he teethed his bottom lip.

"I'm sure if any severe problems occur our father will take care of it." Thor pressed. Bruce didn't know why Thor was looking for his approval. He was the guys brother for crying out loud, if he wanted Loki back home where he belonged then fine. But he appreciated the display of trust towards him and eventually nodded.

"Alright. You can take him in the morning." Thor flashed his perfect white teeth and slapped Bruce on the shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Thank you doctor. I appreciate all you've done." He nodded in return and Tony rolled his eyes.

Thor took off for the Bifröst site in New Mexico after Fury convincing him to keep the power restraints on Loki case he decided to do a runner before reaching Asgard. Tony wasn't there for the grand departure of Loki Laufeyson the God of Mischief. No, he was busy going out to have coffee at 3am, falling asleep at 3:30am, being escorted back to SHIELD HQ at 4am and officially deciding to call it a night at 5. The drive home was long and tiresome and filled with Tony spilling out his sorrows with JARVIS, which consisted of Loki's Jotun form, how creepy it was to be imprinted on but at least it was a fine looking god that did it.

Pepper was glad to see him back and Tony gave her few pointers (nothing that would make her freak out) and she informed him that she would be taking a jet to Miami at six for a certain convention or fundraiser of something along those lines, Tony wasn't really listening. He laid down in bed with her and enjoyed an hour sleep before kissing her goodbye and deciding to stay up while he the sun began rising. Overall, things were calm again.

Until he lumbered out of his workshop at eight, rubbing his eyes from tinkering tiredly on his suits into the lounge room.

"Thor…what is Loki doing back in my house…?"


	3. No Touchy

***rubs eyes*...50 followers...25 favourites...15 reviews...I am ESTATIC. Thank you to everyone, even those who didn't bother to review and just followed the story (you lazy pieces of shit) I LOVE YOU ALL.**

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**No Touchy**

"Stark, please let me explain-"

"Nope, no, wait…" he strode across the room over to a chestnut liquor cabinet, pulled out a bottle of whisky and took a health swing. After swallowing slowly and feeling the burn travel down his throat he turned to Thor with a polite smile and gestured to him- '_continue'_.

"I was on my way to the Bifröst sight in New Mexico when Loki started acting…strange. I swear I was content on bringing him home, but I couldn't risk taking him through the Bifröst in his condition."

"Okay, wait- what condition?" Thor stepped back from the couch where Loki lay, letting Tony walk over to inspect.

_Well damn. He looked like shit._

Loki's eyes were rolled up and half closed, his body was drenched in sweat and he jerked every few seconds as if someone was giving him electric shocks in slow motion. Tony took a moment to raise his eyebrows. "Damn." Thor eyed him, his face one of desperation.

"Do you know what is occurring? I understand he is in heat, but the doctor said nothing about something like this happening…" Tony sighed, scratching his beard.

"Um, yeah, I have no idea. I might give Bruce a call. Wait here." He left Thor and walked over to the kitchen door way and pulled out his phone, clicking the speed dial. "Shit, shit, shit, shit…" Two ring tones and he picked up.

"Tony? What's wrong?" came the concerned voice from Bruce.

"It's funny how you always seem to presume something is wrong in my life."

"Is there?"

"Heck yeah. _Loki_ is in my _living-room_."

A pause.

"What? Why? Is Thor with him?" Tony glanced back to the couch. Thor was being his usual puppy dog brotherly love self, kneeling down to him and running a hand down his face. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, big bros here too. He's changed, Bruce. He's sweating, he's half conscious- he looks like he's half dead."

"Okay. I'm in the Avengers Tower doing some work for SHIELD, though, so I'm going to have to come in tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow_? Tell SHIELD to get screwed and get here now!" Tony pleaded. Being stuck with two Norse gods wasn't exactly on his Bucket List.

"If I leave for your house they'll ask why and I can't really explain without them sending an agent with me. Tomorrow, Tony, I promise." Tony thought for a moment before reluctantly nodding, hanging up and walking back into the lounge room, squatting down near the couch with Thor.

"Okay, so Bruce is a bit unavailable right now..." Thor nodded but his brow didn't rise from a permanent line over his eyes.

"He's sweating," he said, his voice a low rumble so you could almost feel his words. "Jane keeps cooling packets in her ice box." He stood and hesitated for two seconds before strolling quickly across the room. "I assume you're the same, yes?" he called over his shoulder.

"Keep cooling things in my _what_?" But Thor was already out the room. "JARVIS?"

"_Mr Odinson is going to get ice-packs out the freezer, Sir_." He rolled his eyes.

"Right." He looked back to Loki, his tall form taking up most of the two seater couch. Suddenly a rather violent jolt sent him sliding down the very edge, slowly rolling to the floor. "Aw crap." Tony grunted when the god fell on him in a boneless heap. "Man you're heavy…*grunt* okay, get back on the couch now…oh hey you're awake."

Loki's green eyes were snapped open and his body tensed a little. His eyes were milky and blood shot but were intense and Tony stopped wriggling under his gaze. "What're you looking at?" Loki stared on, his skin losing a bit of its sweaty gleam and the colour returning to his lips. "…Do I have something in my teeth?" Tony yelped when he felt his nails digging into his shoulder and Loki shuffled until he was lounging in his lap, lunging his head out and beginning to rub his cheek against Tony's neck.

What a great picture for Thor to walk in on.

"What in the Nine Realms is going on?" he asked and even though the mechanic couldn't see him he could tell he was angry. Very angry.

"This is so not what it looks like." He tried to look innocent as he turned his head to him but it was proving quite difficult when the thunder god's brother was wiping his face all over his neck. Thor rushed over to them, ice packs crunching in his hand.

"Loki, are you okay?" Loki didn't answer, completely happy in continuing to hug Tony as if his life depended on it. "What…what is he _doing_?" Thor frowned. Tony huffed and went to reply when Loki jolted his head forward and brushed his nose over his lips. Tony rolled his eyes and pushed him out of the way. Loki didn't seem fazed, rubbing his forehead against his cheek.

"I think he's…imprinting on me," the billionaire forced out, pointing a lame finger at Loki.

"_Imprinting_ on you?" Thor sounded both enraged and disturbed.

"Well, technically speaking I am his mate." _Huh. Surprised how well I can actually admit that_.

"How do you make him stop?" Thor seethed, obviously uncomfortable with the sight of his little brother and the amount of skin-on-skin contact he was having with Tony. Tony shrugged but quickly tried to think of ways when Thor glared at him.

"Um…" he glanced to the god. "Stop." Nothing. "Please." God, what the hell was he thinking? He began pushing him off his lap which only caused him to cling onto his shoulders more. The more Tony touched his bare chest the more Loki was trying to hold him. "Please don't tell me this is some kind of Jotun foreplay," Tony said, still trying to push him off.

"Stop, Stark," Thor ordered. "That obviously isn't going to help." Tony let out an exhausted breath and dropped his arms, completely surrendering. This pleased Loki and he had officially wrapped his legs and arms around him and continued to rub their faces together like Eskimos. "How long until Banner gets here?"

"Tomorrow at least." They both stared at Loki with an equal amount of loss on their faces.

"_Sir, if you don't mind me interjecting we still have a bottle of chloroform in the medicine cabinet_." Tony let his head roll back on his neck.

"JARVIS, why the hell didn't you mention that earlier?"

"What is this chloroform you speak of?" Thor asked.

"It's like sedatives. JARVIS, navigate Thor to the medicine cabinet please."

"_On it Sir. Mr Odinson, simply enter the kitchen to your left_." Thor looked affronted to the idea of letting the AI tell him what to do, but gradually gave in and cautiously exited the room, his footsteps light as if JARVIS would turn the house against him if he so happen to make a squeak. Tony was left with Loki and this time he couldn't even have the satisfaction of paying the god out. No, this time it seemed the joke was on him. Loki snuggled into the crook of his neck and pushed his chin up with the tip of his nose, a sweetly placed smile on his face which made Tony think if he'd ever actually seen an expression so calm on the villain.

"Yeah, okay, you can stop with the cute act. I have to beat you up again sometime after all this." He didn't respond- Tony didn't expect anything more. He spent a few more moments wondering if Thor had accidentally killed himself with a spoon when a certain sound made him freeze.

It was…a low rumble. No, lighter than that.

A…purr?

He glanced down to Loki who had continued rubbing his cheek against the edge of his chin and saw the god with his eyes closed and the smile still on his lips, but his throat was…vibrating. He could feel the rumble against his own skin. "Holy shit. Are you…_purring_?" Loki replied in more snuggles and the sound definitively got louder. Tony's eyebrows rose until he was certain they were touching his hair line.

Well then.

He then heard the footsteps of Thor enter the room once again and, same as last time, heard him abruptly stop. "…What is that noise?"

"Your bro's a cat," Tony shrugged, patting Loki on the head. The purring grew almost deafening and the limbs wrapped around him squeezed tighter. _Okay, don't encourage him. No touchy_.

"I was not aware that Jotuns…purr." Thor frowned deeply and approached them with a damp cloth in hand which was already evading Tony's nose with its thick musk.

"Well you learn something every day. Now please pass the cloth over- he's basically choking me to death." Thor nodded and Tony snatched the chloroform and pressed it against Loki's mouth, holding his nose closed at the same time and the purring was immediately cut off. His eyes snapped open and he jerked back, face screwing up in confusion and panic and Tony felt the slightest pang of guilt, but held his head firmly either way. Luckily Thor had dowsed the white fabric with what seemed to be half the entire bottle and it wasn't long before Loki's limbs loosened and his eyes were heavy and he slumped to the floor.

After that tedious ordeal Thor carried Loki to the couch again and they watched him sleep soundly, still pondering on what to do. The smaller man brushed his hair back with a large exhale, appreciating the ability to once again expand his lungs fully.

"Okaaaaaaay," he mumbled, scratching his chin. "So…Loki stopped being all pale and sweaty and shit as soon as I touched him." Thor didn't look to him but held his gaze on his brother with a look of drawn-back complexity. Tony took it as an invitation to continue. "So, I'm guessing that Jotuns…or maybe just Loki in particular…need to have some form of contact or they, you know, die." This caused a glare in his direction. "Or maybe just get really sick," he added quickly after.

"He wasn't getting any better when I held him. As much as I hate to admit it, Stark, Loki is bonded to you and your touch only can save him from his ill state." Tony took a moment there. Thor was probably the scariest big brother he'd ever seen and ever since Loki was under their custody he was like a giant protective blanket. He was having trouble thinking over the fact that he had just basically offered him access to feel up his brother. It was to save him from sickness, yeah, but it still was a pretty trusting gesture. Tony felt a little special, actually.

His thought were split when a weak groan filled the room and Loki squirmed on the cushions. Thor quickly knelt to his side, placing a steady hand upon his pale shoulder. Loki's eyes blinked open and took a few times before he could keep them that way. "Brother, are you okay?" The smaller god squinted to his surroundings and whacked an arm over his forehead.

"W…w…" he regained the feeling in his lips and wiped his face over. "_My head_," he groaned.

"Yeah, that might take a while to walk off." Loki's eyes went wide as soon as Tony spoke. He looked up to him, blinking as his mind registered the image.

"Stark…what are you…where in the…"

Thor looked startled when his little brother leapt up from the couch, stumbling viciously. "Where am I?" he spun around quickly.

"Brother, it's fine. I just returned you to Midgard because-"

"Midgard? _Midgard_? THOR! What am I doing back on Midgard?!" his footing was off and his voice was slurred but he still managed to express the white rage through his glare. He didn't wait for him to reply when his eyes narrowed at Tony. "And what are _you_ doing here?"

"Uh, _my_ house," he deadpanned. Thor stepped forward.

"Loki, stay calm. Everything is fine, just let me explain." Loki didn't stop pacing around in circles, wincing sometimes and rubbing his head. "I was taking you to the Bifröst sight when you began to act feverish. It kept escalating until I had no choice but to bring you-"

"_Here_? Of all places, Thor-"

"I couldn't risk taking you through the Bifröst and Stark helped you regain a part of your strength if you so cared to heed that fact!" Loki faltered a bit and stopped short.

"How in the Nine Realms did _he_ help me?"

Tony shuffled awkwardly on the spot, not enjoying just kind of being 'there'.

"You know of your condition, Loki, and you know of you and Stark's situation. We've come to the conclusion that you need a steady amount of skin contact with him or you fall ill." Tony and Loki made eye contact and awkward levels rose through the roof. Though the blush that crept into the god's cheeks made Tony slightly satisfied. Everything went silent for a moment.

"…Damn." He covered his face and sunk to the floor, pressing up against the wall. Thor rolled his eyes.

"Loki, there's no need to be this dramatic-"

"Damn, damn, damn, _damn_…"

"You are over-reacting- it could be worse."

"Worse?!" he snapped his head up. "Thor, I'm practically chained to this infuriating mortal! How could it possibly be _worse_?!"

"Hey, can I not be insulted for three seconds?" Tony snapped. Thor sighed.

"At least we have some sort of way out of this mess without it ending in pain brought to you, brother." He earned a snort for that comment but Thor ignored it, kneeling down in front of him. "It hopefully will be all over soon and we can return to Asgard, alright?" Loki huffed and looked the other way. After a moment of silence Tony broke it by clapping his hands together.

"Okay! So now that that awkwardly awkward awkwardness is behind us!" he took a few steps towards the two brothers. "Loki, considering you don't know anything about the Jotun sexy season or whatever, is there a book about it? You know, maybe a little pamphlet? Anything?"

The god was obviously rejectable to answering him and spent a good fifteen seconds of brooding but eventually nodded. "In Asgard there are scrolls and books on Jotuns, though they are few and most are written in their native dialect which might take a while to decipher."

"Well that's kinda stupid," he mumbled, scratching his ear. "But it would help a lot, actually." He slapped Thor on the shoulder good-heartedly. "Alright Point Break, just pop into Asgard and grab what we need." The larger man looked to him with a crunched brow.

"What?"

Tony paused. "The books on Jotuns. The side effects Loki had might just be the tip of the ice berg and I don't know about you, but I like to build a wall before the wave comes." Thor looked to Loki who seemed to have no verdict on the matter.

"But who would look after Loki?" Said man snorted mockingly.

"I'm not a child, Thor," he snapped. "I can survive a few days without you." Tony blinked. _A few days? Isn't Asgard a skip away for gods?_

"I'm sorry, _days_?" Thor gave him a look as if he had asked if the earth did in fact rotate around the sun.

"Of course. Time moves differently between the fabric that connects the branches of Yggdrasil." All Tony heard was '_blah blah blah_'. Seriously, the whole magic Realm shit had pissed him off ever since New York, being a man of hard science. But still. A few days locked up in his house with the God of Mischief. An in-heat God of Mischief. That didn't sound too peachy.

"Go then, Thor, if you must." Loki's voice sliced through his thinking and he looked to see the younger god pushed Thor away. "The quicker you go the faster I can examine the scrolls. Do try not to forget where the library is."

Thor looked lost for a second and glanced to Tony who forced a smile.

"We'll be fine."

**~O~**

After Thor had gone on his long errand, Tony led Loki to a spare room where he could sleep. It wasn't much, with white walls and one power green one for décor, standard double bed and furnishings. Loki didn't seem that impressed (_lucky I even bothered to give him a room_, Tony thought in irritation) but stayed in it for the remainder of the day. Tony maybe thought that the sickly symptoms would arise again, but the video feed on his room didn't show any of the sort and the billionaire headed to his own room at 7pm, turning in early for the night.

He snuggled down in the covers and yawned. Getting that one hour the previous night along with the complications with Loki and Thor really took a beating on him. He stretched and yawned again for good measure. "JARVIS, show me Loki's room."

The image that flickered beside him showed Loki asleep in his own bed, his position suggesting one of a small ball. "Health over view? He didn't eat anything today."

"_Mr Laufeyson's basic health is not showing any signs of disturbance, Sir_." Tony nodded in satisfaction and the video faded.

"Hey, where's Pepper?"

"_She left for Miami yesterday. She did tell you_." He could hear the sigh in his voice and frowned.

"How long will she be gone?" Pepper plus a Norse god in his house equalled trouble. And explaining. A whole lot of explaining.

"_She was originally staying for two days but she left a message saying that it was extended to a week due to plane failures from a member of another company. Shall I inform her about your situation, Sir?_"

"NO. God no. Nope, wouldn't be good. For anyone."

"_And by 'anyone' you're referring to you personally?_"

"Yep."

"_Understood_."

And then Tony fell asleep, and everything was silent.

…

…

"_Sir_?"

…

"_Sir!_"

"Mmmmhhhggahh….go aweeeey JARVIS…."

"_Sir, there had been a disturbance in Loki's room_." Tony squeezed his eyes shut further.

"Hhhhhmmgg…what time is it?"

"_4am Sir, but Loki_-"

Tony jolted awake when the name finally registered. "What? Loki? Where?" he spun in the covers causing them to constrict his legs.

"_He's still in his room, Sir, but_-"

"Yep, okay, on my way," he said quickly, wiggling over to the edge of the bed and ripping the sheet off his feet. He stumbled around for his palm reactor and when it was securely around his hand he dashed out the bedroom and made his made down the hall.

"_Sir, I don't think you will need any form of weaponry_."

"_Loki_, JARVIS. There's always room for weaponry." JARVIS sighed wearily and decided not to comment any further when Tony burst through the door and held the reactor up, not enjoying the dull light that bathed through the window. The first thing that concerned him was a noise. No, not purring, but…whining. Loud, drawn-out whining.

"What the…?"

Loki was withering on the bed, unable to keep still. The whines were horse and dry and- _god, how long has he been like this?_

"IT BURNS!" he screamed, gripping his head and Tony could see streams of tears down his cheeks. "IT'S BURNING! MAKE IT STOP!"

"Fuck, um," he ripped his weapon off and ran over to him, quickly wrapping his bare arms around him and sitting down on the bed. Loki fell into the embrace and grappled him back, buddling up in his lap and his whines ceased and fell into soft whimpers into his chest. His eyes went wide.

"Holy shit you're FREEZING!" he wheezed. Loki just gripped him tighter, probably scared that he'd let go, but Tony swallowed it down and stayed put. Tony was taken back a bit- this was the very guy who threw him out of a window. But for him to have been in so much pain that he consciously decides to sit in his lap like a child, then it must've been bad. Tony wrapped a strong arm around his back and had the strongest urge to comfortably run a hand through his hair.

They stayed there for what must have been half an hour, Loki's sobs stopping sometime along the way, Tony couldn't really pinpoint when it stopped, until they were just sitting there softly breathing. Tony felt stuck. He didn't want to spend the entire rest of the night cradling a cold Loki but he didn't want him to have another spastic. He looked down to the pale face, impassive. "…Are you gonna be okay?"

No answer.

"…Uh, Loki?"

**Poke**, **poke**.

Still no answer.

"Hey, you rude piece of-" he paused when he saw that he was in fact fast asleep, his head rested against his tan chest. He snorted and leaned his back against the head board, quite pissed off. "Right. Fine. Of course you can use me as a pillow. I was going to suggest it if you hadn't, actually." Loki responded in a snuggle. He rolled his eyes and adjusted himself on the bed, pulling the covers over his legs and sinking down onto some pillows. "Night reindeer games," he grunted, adjusting the heavy god so he wasn't squashing his lungs so much.

He guessed there was an upside to the situation, because if Loki's face in the morning when he realized he bunked in with the notorious Tony Stark was his revenge for getting thrown out a window, then it would be very sweet revenge indeed.


	4. Who Needs Pride Anyway

**o0o (my HOLYSHITSOMANYALERTSANDREVIEWS face) **

**This chapter actually required me to do some heavy research for some fo the explanations about Loki's in-heat stuff. Kinda awkward when your parents walk in and you're looking up sex hormones and animals in heat. ITS JUST A FAZE MOM CALM DOWN**

**So, there were some questions in the reviews that I'll just clear up now because I can't be bothered replying to you all because I can be a lazy piece of shit too :) **

**Firstly, no, Loki isn't uni-sex in this story. He is completely male.**

**Another one of you pointed out that Loki's skin shouldn't have allowed the sleeping dart to puncture it. To that I say...**

**Yeah you're probably right.**

**CONTINUING...**

**Enjoy this chap, I had fun writing it :D**

* * *

**Who Needs Pride Anyway**

_TOUCHTOUCHtouchTOUC HTOUCHtouchtouchTOUCH_

Loki didn't know what he was laying on, but it was warm and comfortable so he didn't see a reason to get up. He wrapped his arms around his 'pillow' and breathed in its scent, burrowing his head into it. It smelled sweet and inviting and he wanted nothing more than to stay there and sleep in its embrace. Suddenly his pillow let out a sleepy groan.

…Odd.

Loki frowned and felt the clutches of luscious sleep slipping when he slowly raised his head and looked to the source of hot air that was breathing on him.

Tony Stark. He was sleeping on Tony Stark.

He stared at him in complete shock, unable to move because _how on earth did I get into this situation_? Actually, he didn't want to think about the answer. Tony sniffled a little and his brown eyes blinked open dopily. Their gaze linked together and the idiot actually had it in him to _smirk_. "Good morning darling."

Loki blinked.

**SLAM**.

The surprised yelp and thud from Tony's body hitting the carpet might of made Loki smile but he was far too enraged for that. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!" he screeched down at the mechanic's sprawled out body below him. Tony groaned and rolled onto his back so he was looking up at him.

"Okay first of all- _ouch_, that hurt like a bitch. And secondly you're lucky I even gave you a bed." He grunted when he climbed to his feet, rubbing his shoulder tenderly. "And thirdly- the most important of all- I saved your fucking _life_, okay? So don't go throwing me off my own furniture when you'd still be roasting alive if I didn't help you last night." He finished with enough spite in his voice that reminded them both that they were far from friendly terms. Loki was taken back.

"How did you save my…?" Then it all clicked. He did remember another 'session' occurring last night, he just couldn't remember how it ended. Obviously Tony must've…aided him. He swallowed and diverted his gaze. "Oh."

"Yeah," Tony snapped. "You're welcome." He didn't wait for an awkward pause, walking over to the door, still massaging his upper back. "Now if you excuse me, I need a hot pocket." He left with irritation still buzzing around him and quite a short temper, which was horrible considering it was a Saturday. He scratched at his thin tank top that he didn't bother to change out of.

"_How was your sleep, Sir?_"

"I swear to god if you mock me now JARVIS, I'm putting you permanently on mute."

"_Your coffee is brewed for you Sir along with a pizza hot pocket_."

"I was kidding. I love you." He lumbered over to the kitchen bench, pulling his hot pocket out of the microwave and grabbing his coffee mug with much affection, his sour mood lightening a tad. He took a large bite. "Loki's an asshole." He mumbled through the pastry.

"_I don't think people who destroy the city are necessarily polite, Sir_." He rolled his eyes and swallowed, quickly taking a large gulp of his coffee.

"He could've at least of said thank you. I've helped his ass out twice now and what do I get? Pout. Sneer. Getting thrown off the _fucking bed_."

"…_You would've preferred to stay in your compromising position, Sir_?" Tony almost spat back into his mug.

"What-? No! I just- JARVIS if you are seriously suggesting that I-" he stopped mid explanation when a screen came up showing that Bruce was standing at the front door. He nervously tugged at his jacket, looking around. "Hey Brucey!" Tony greeted through the screen. Bruce looked up to the video camera and sighed wearily.

"Are you going to let me in, Tony?"

"JARVIS!"

"_Right away Sir_."

Tony strolled into the living room with the hot pocket still in hand to see Bruce quietly entering the room, already a look of placid worry upon his face. "Is Loki-?"

"Not really," Tony sighed. "To give it to you straight, Thor's off to get a book on 'How to Train Your Loki', who is being a complete dick right now and to make things even better we have to feel each other up to keep him from going spastic." Bruce blinked a few times at the explanation, slowly finding the couch seat behind him and sitting down.

"Okay…lets break this down." Tony shrugged and took another mouthful of sweet delicious pizza pastry. "So Thor has returned to Asgard to get Jotun books?"

Nod.

"Okay, that could help. How long will he be gone?"

"A fhew dooys at leaffst-"

"Tony, swallow."

Gulp.

"A few days because magic is a bitch."

"And Pepper?"

"Miami for a week." Bruce brushed his brown hair back, exhaling deeply. "The worst happened last night. Spastics, I mean. I made sure Loki was secure in his room with his power restraints and all, but at about 4am he started screaming. He acted like someone had set him on fire, Bruce, it wasn't pretty." Bruce leaned back in his seat and Tony pouted when he realized his hot pocket was finished.

"The least I can do is run a few more tests, but I don't think it would help us too much. Maybe we could try and see what's causing the 'spasms' that he's having, but that's about it." Tony nodded at the plan.

"Okay, you get Loki down to the workshop and I'll get another hot pocket."

**~O~**

**KNOCK**.

"Loki?"

Loki sat up from his bed. He wasn't really doing anything as the room was dreadfully boring and means of planning escape were pointless considering his loss of magic and that annoying voice that ran the house. His ears tilted upwards at the voice. The Midgardian doctor.

**KNOCK**, **KNOCK**.

"Loki, may I come in?" He found it strange that he was asking permission. He wasn't a guest in this house, he was a prisoner. Bruce Banner certainly confused him but the one thing he could make sure of him was that he was more responsible than Tony and therefore, to a degree, trustworthy. He clenched his hands twice and made his way over to the door, opening it with much tenderness so it didn't even hush a squeak. Bruce smiled. "Remember me?"

Loki paused before nodding. "…Of course."

"I heard you had a bit of an episode last night." He grinded his teeth. "I'm here to run a few more tests on you, if you wouldn't mind. Just follow me down to the workshop." He began walking down the hall and when Loki didn't follow he turned to him. His face was one of amusement. "They won't hurt, if that's what you're afraid of."

"I'm not afraid." Loki said defiantly and tailed after him. Bruce smirked and continued through the living room and down the staircase that led to Tony's workshop. Loki twisted and turned his head this way and that, appreciating a view that wasn't a starch room. It certainly wasn't an Asgardian palace but was decorated nicely enough (Loki figured Miss Potts did most of the décor). He stiffened when he saw Tony as he made his way down the narrow staircase and into the workshop that was filled with large clumps of junk and metal strewn everywhere. Tony just finished off his hot pocket and set up different holographic screens around the room.

"Okay reindeer games-" He really did _hate_ that nickname- "If you could just come over here…" Loki obliged and Tony strapped some kind of brace around his shoulder. He was about to ask what it was when he felt a sharp stinging in his arm and gritted his teeth with a small grunt. Tony twirled to him from looking at the screens.

"Oh, you might feel a small pinch."

He swore he was going to strangle him.

Bruce gave the man a warning glare and walked up to the screens to examine them. Loki's irritation mellowed into curiousness when the brace begun to light up a brilliant blue. He lifted his arm up with a glint in his eyes. "What is it doing?"

"Glowing." Tony said without missing a beat, still sounding icy towards him. Okay, he understands that throwing him off the bed may had been a bit drastic considering the man had saved him prior, but was Stark really still holding that grudge? Bruce answered his question instead.

"That pinch you felt was just it taking your blood. It's now replicating your DNA and sending it to JARVIS so he can decipher it into your cells and hormones." Loki was impressed with the technology, probably the first thing that he would dare praise Stark for in his life. Bruce hummed in thought when the results began showing up on the screen.

"Okay," he nodded, "you have a standard amount of Estrus in your system which is understandable for your state." Loki frowned.

"Meaning?"

Bruce glanced to him before looking to Tony to deliberately wasn't looking at him. "Tony, why don't you explain the results?" Loki smirked at the doctor. Tony looked to his companion and they seemed to have an entire conversation with their facial expressions before he rolled his head back and let out an obvious sigh.

"Okeydokey Loki," he said though his tone was tough and he turned to the expectant god. "Estrus is a type of hormone that animals release when in heat or what women release when going through the 'time that shalt not be named'. Considering you're a guy…." He gave a scanning look. "…I hope, I'm gonna say that's where the cravings are coming from. The reason why you're overheating and getting sick and all that jazz is because your adrenal glands have way too much Epinephrine in them."

"Epinephrine?"

"Blood control, heat control, important stuff like that. Along with a mix of other monoamines, Corticosteroids and gonadotropin-releasing hormones which I'm sure you're not interested in." He gave him a painfully fake smile and went to remove the brace.

"_Tony_."

I that one tone, Loki suddenly knew how these two spend their time in each other's company without murdering each other or Tony exploding something. Tony let out a loud groan. "Fine, fine! Okay, when you imprinted on me (I'm still the victim, remember) your body must've released gonadotropin hormones which, I think, linked themselves to my certain DNA signature. That's why it doesn't work with anyone else. If the gonadotropins aren't kept happy then the Epinephrine gets angry and you go spastic."

Loki nodded even though he wasn't quite satisfied with the answer. Bruce took over from there. "I think because Ear- uh, Midgard has such a higher temperature then other Realm where Jotuns come from. That must be almost completely ice, right?" Loki scratched at the brace, suddenly finding it very uncomfortable.

"Yes, Jotunhiem is a shell of ice and snow." Bruce nodded.

"So you must react badly to the weather."

Tony snorted.

After Bruce had packed up and left the house became rather quiet, giving Loki the perfect atmosphere to think in his room. He could hear Tony watching the TV in the lounge room, probably still pouting. Loki couldn't really care less about his mental state, but he dreadfully felt the tightness in his stomach and the fuzziness in his mind. No doubt another session was coming. And that's how he came to be standing in the entry way of the lounge room, mind coiling and withering like a snake.

He didn't really want to apologize to Stark. But sadly any benefits he would get from a grumpy Tony would be intense pain and boiling blood. So he took a breath, and stepped forward.

Stark didn't look at him when he approached the large couch, his body sprawled out across every cushion and the remote lamely in his hand. He didn't look that interested at what was on, his face vague and emotionless. But Loki could read him like a book. _So childish_.

"I feel there is an apology in order."

"And the only reason you'd want to apologize to me is so I could be your scratching post again."

Loki was taken back a little. _Okay. Maybe not so much like a child_. He went to reply but a biting pain attacked his frontal lobe. He held in his grunt and passed his wince off as an itch to his hairline. Luckily Stark didn't catch wind of it. He took a startled jump when the man suddenly let out an annoyed groan.

"AWWW COME ON!" he yelled. Loki glanced to him, himself and then- _Wait, was he yelling at the television?_ "That was so not fair!" he struggled until he got himself into a sitting position. Loki looked to the program that was one the TV and was met with the strange image of a young woman standing on a stage while four other Midgardians in large red chairs were criticizing her. He frowned deeply.

"And this is…?" he wasn't one to be inquisitive about things but this really had him stumped.

"The Voice…" Stark mumbled, leaning back on the couch back when the woman exited the stage and another one was introduced. He gestured meaninglessly to the TV screen. "People go on to sing and if the judges like it then they turn around and then the singer can pick his or her team so they can go further. Blind auditions. And they SHOULD HAVE PRESSED FOR THE OTHER ONE! DAMMIT!"

Loki raised an eyebrow, slowly sitting down next to him, far enough apart for comfort even though his mind was screaming at him to get closer. "What was her name?"

"I dunno, I can never remember. Hey, this one looks promising…"

The god thought it odd. Mostly people read like books to him, but he truly felt he could say that Tony Stark was unpredictable to even his manipulations. One minute he was a pouting mess, the next a hard headed guilt-tripper. An inappropriate joker to a responsible genius. Right now, even- Loki was on his way to apologize but now he was watching some mortal sing their hearts out on day-time TV with him. And the strangest part was that he couldn't really find himself complaining.

The show was actually quite enjoyable but he would admit Stark's reactions were the most entertaining. He would mope and moan about how good one was but then completely throw away the compliment when someone better came on. He actually _cheered on_ and _argued_ with the judges. Loki didn't know if he even knew that they couldn't in fact hear him but if he did then that habit was rather insane looking.

Loki's headaches were becoming denser and more painful and he couldn't stop himself from groaning from time to time and rub his temple. His face was red from over-heating and he didn't know whether he wanted to eat or throw up. It wasn't long before he felt Stark's arm wrap around his and he was being pulled towards him in one swoop. Green eyes widened when he felt his skin brush up against him and he immediately slumped. Tony didn't even look up from the TV but he could feel his smirk through his skin.

"I should really give you a shirt," he mumbled. Loki barely heard him. He was too tranquil right now.

**~O~**

Tony felt satisfied.

Loki actually ate today (he doesn't care what anyone says, half a hot pocket _was_ an achievement), he sassed him off and even though they started off with a rocky start they spent the afternoon watching daytime TV. He watched daytime TV with the God of Mischief. He felt so special.

"Hey," he said, blocking the hall way with an out-stretched arm. Loki raised an eyebrow to him. "You can't sleep in you room."

"And your magnificent reason for that is?"

"You'll die. Good enough for you?" Loki gritted his teeth a little and- _Oh, I am getting good at this_. "Come on," he snapped his fingers and tugged him lightly in the other direction, "my bed."

"Stark, if you're seriously implying that I am sleeping in your quarters-"

"Loki, you almost burnt from the _inside out_ last time." He was looking straight at him now, probably a little too intensely and it showed when Loki didn't immediately snap a reply. "Look, I know I've kicked your ass a couple of times and you've kicked mine, but I don't want you _dead_. You're a guest in my house, so-"

"I'm a prisoner," he seethed, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Who spent the entire afternoon watching daytime TV with me whilst eating hot pockets." Loki glared. "If there was another way to keep you safe I'd go with that, but as it seems the safest option is for us to bunk together."

"I don't need your protection, Stark."

"Yes, you do."

They stared each other off for a good minute before Tony declared it his win. He led him back down the hall, leading him to his room. "Come on, Bambi. It'll be like the Sleepover Club. We can paint each other's nails, do our hair-"

"I don't know where you find the inspiration for these ridiculous nicknames." Tony let go of his arm as Loki was following him by choice now.

"Bambi. You know, the little deer thing." He looked back to the clouded face. "Aw man, we have to watch Bambi. It was my favorite Disney movie when I was a kid. I think I liked the way he walked when he was first born. Man that shit was funny. It kept stumbling all over the place. It think it sat on a rabbit's head in the process. Oh well, we'll have to watch it- refresh my memory." He could see Loki shaking his head from the corner of his eyes and he chuckled, reaching his bedroom door and opening it. "Welcome to my crib."

The room was pretty much like any other in the house, with a king sized bed and windows engulfing half the wall. Still, it had a nice homely feel to it and the lighting was just right. He walked over to the bedside draw, rummaging through it for a bit. "Well, if you were a chick I'd carry you to the bed, but considering you're…you," he chucked him the only green shirt he had (the color drowns his complexion), "You can wear that from now on. Less awkward than looking like a trashed party dancer all the time." Loki murmured a thanks and slipped it over his head. It was a little too tight around the biceps and ended a little short but hey, it was a shirt. He stood and bowed lowly to the bed. "After you, _monsieur_-"

"Oh shut up, Stark," the god snapped, walking past him to the opposite side and slipping under the cream covers. Tony grinned. He didn't have any sleepovers when he was little, and even though he's had many ladies over it wasn't the same as the man power. They'd be like bros bunking together. Only they were enemies. And subconsciously Loki wants to have sex with him.

Still, he felt giddy inside.

He couldn't wipe the grin off his face even when he sunk into the mattress and laid his head on the pillows. "JARVIS, lights." The room was swallowed in darkness and they could no longer see each other. But he could feel the weight dip when Loki rolled over and the tightness in the covers. Tony still felt like a little kid hosting a sleepover and found himself completely awake, much to the misery of Loki.

"Hey, Loki Dokey." He didn't know why he whispered- they were the only ones in the house. Oh well, added to the effect. He got a groan in response and he swore he almost _giggled_. "You know, I've been doing some research in Norse Mythology lately."

"Amazing, Stark. Now go to sleep." He sadly didn't bother to whisper.

"Well, I found this one where you gave birth to a horse."

The usual subtle rise in the covers form his breaths stilled.

"…What?"

"And you have a baby serpent. And a wolf. A few kids, actually. Apparently you were quite the whore."

"Stark, I swear if you keep talking I'll puncture your eyes out and shove them down your throat so you can watch me rip your carcass apart."

"…You're really violent, you know that?"

"STARK."

"Fine, fine…" he kept his mouth shut for a few more minutes and suddenly grew scared that Loki had fallen asleep and left him to drown in his boredom. "Pssst, Loki." Nothing. "PSSTT, LOKI."

"_Stark_…" Loki growled.

"Can I ask you a question?" He felt the weight in the mattress dip again and Loki let out a heavy sigh.

"I thought I was sleeping in your bed with you to , oh, I don't know, _sleep_ maybe?"

"Just a quick question." Silence pounded in his ears for a few seconds.

"What is it?"

"What product do you use in your hair?"

…

…

"Loki?"

…

"PSST, LOK-" He choked on his words when he felt a hand wrap around his throat, just tight enough for a warning. Loki's face was inches away from his and even in the dark he could see the green ignited in fury.

"LET. ME. SLEEP." He held up his hands in defeat.

"Oka-y, ok-ay," he choked out and gasped in a breath when he let go. Loki slid back to his side of the bed and rolled over so his back was facing him. _The cold shoulder. Ouch_. The sleepover giddiness washed away and was replaced with actual sleepiness. He yawned as quietly as possible and snuggled into the pillows, finally drifting off to sleep.

**~O~**

"_Sir, you have five missed calls from Happy Hogan. I think it would be appropriate to call him back as it is almost 11AM_."

Tony groaned, wiping his face over with his free hand. He blinked wearily for a few seconds and adjusted to the light that was suddenly raging through the windows as JARVIS slid the blinds up. He heard Loki moan in just as much annoyance.

…Wait. Wasn't he on the other side of the bed? Why did he suddenly sound so close?

The billionaire blinked and looked down to see the god latched around his chest like a leach. Loki looked just as freaked out by their cuddling and slowly their eyes met.

"…Never mention this to anyone?" Tony offered.

"_Never_."

Tony slipped out of bed and let Loki get up at his own pace and made his way down the hall to the kitchen, pulling out his phone whilst doing so. He punched in Happy's number and jumped when he immediately picked up.

"_Tony! There you are! I've been trying to call you all morning, where were you?_" Tony looked up as Loki entered, walking straight over to the fridge and pulling it open.

"I was busy."

"_I know, the 'great Tony Stark' is always busy. But you gotta listen to me buddy, the Great Charity Ball in Los Angeles is on today_."

"Mm-hm," Tony mumbled, half-listening when Loki pulled out a bottle of milk and began to chug it straight out the carton. He scowled. "HEY!" he half whispered from across the kitchen. "I have to use that too you know!" Loki simply swallowed his mouthful and gave him a look that screamed '_bring it_.'

"_Tony- hey, Tony! Are you even listening to me?!_"

"What?" he stuttered into the phone and Loki flashed his teeth in a grin before chucking the milk back in the fridge. _Cheeky bastard_.

"_Listen, okay? The Great Charity Ball is in Los Angeles and guess who's going to be there?_"

"Not me?"

"_**Earl Stanford**_." Tony's eyes widened. Earl was a slippery fish in the business world, usually taking up on deals depending on the person rather than the price tag, and considering his first impression of Tony was the smell of his vomit over his shoes he didn't quite make the advance he wanted for his company. Even though Pepper was the official CEO, there's nothing a little friendly chatter couldn't do to help the new and improved Stark Industries. He almost grinned before he looked to Loki who was observing the phone call with mild interest.

_Crap. Dilemma_.

"Ummm," he fidgeted. "I'll try and be there."

"_**Try**__ and be there? Tony, this is one of the many big breaks for your company you don't come by often. You're either there or there_."

"Excuse me, but who is who's boss here?"

"_Just think of how impressed Pepper would be_." Tony swallowed. He just had to bring the big guns out.

"Fine, fine," he waved a hand absentmindedly, "I'll be there, okay?"

"_More than okay, Tony, this is great_."

"Yep."

"_I mean then the company is going to grow and Pepper is going to be over the moon_-"

"Yep, yeah, Happy, you've addressed all that."

"_So I'll meet you there then_."

"Yes."

"_Do you remember where it is because_-"

He hung up quickly, sighing and slouching against the counter. Loki raised an eyebrow in that frustratingly sassy look of his and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well? Problems?"

"Heck yeah." He wiped a hand over his head and chucked his phone onto the granite island, watching it slide and stop dangerously close to the edge. "Look, I need to go to a Charity Ball." Loki shrugged.

"Okay. Bye."

"Loki," Tony warned. "You know perfectly well why this can't work."

"I think I can survive a few hours without you, Stark," Loki mused, wondering over to inspect other cupboards around the kitchen.

"No, you can't. Maybe another session didn't occur yesterday but that was only because you were in my arms almost the whole time." This time Loki was the one who gave the warning, shooting him a glare. "I can't leave you alone for five hours."

"So what, you expect me to go with you?" he slammed a cupboard shut. "If you hadn't noticed, _Stark_, I'm not exactly the most loved person in the city right now." Tony huffed, tapping his fingers against the counter. The options were slim and each idea that popped into his head became more and more drastic. Still, he had to go with something.

"You have magic, don't you?" He saw him pause in his search and the slightest smirk appear on his lips and he seriously questioned if he had planned for this moment to come up the whole time. He faced him and his featured softened into a look of pure innocence. He held out his arms, still burdened with the metal bracelets. Tony rolled his eyes and pointed a sharp finger at him. "Okay, but don't run off just because you can. Don't do it for me, do it for yourself because you're dead without me. JARVIS?"

"_Are you sure, Sir?_"

"Just do it before I come to my senses." With a beep and a click the power restraints hissed open and fell to the floor. Tony swiped them up and Loki tenderly rubbed his wrists. They didn't cut into his skin, Tony's design made sure of that, but they were probably still itchy and tender. Loki smirked at him and straightened up, slowly brushing a hand over his face. His palm glowed green for a few seconds before fading out. Loki still stood before him.

"Uh, disguise? I still see Loki."

"Yes, you do but everyone else sees this." He glanced to his reflection on the surface of the oven. Tony frowned and followed his gaze, shoving the power restraints into his back pocket. Loki's reflection showed a mortal man with blonde hair, a more tan complexion and a perfectly maintained beard adorning his chin. His eyes were crystal blue and even though he had the same facial shape as Loki, you couldn't tell it was him. Tony whistled.

"I see where you got inspiration," he grinned, stroking his own beard. Loki rolled his eyes and Tony looked back to the reflection, noting that the dressing didn't change. "Okay." He slapped his hands together. "Now it is time for the suits."

Sometimes Tony hated being short and this was one of those moments. Finding a suit for Loki was the easy part, just finding one that fit was hell. One was too short at the arms, another too short at the waist and some looked like they were going to choke him. Finally he came across one dumped at the bottom of his wardrobe that he never wore because it didn't fit well (he usually had his suits made but this one was a poor gift) and he decided to chuck it there because he was Tony Stark and he was lazy. Loki was becoming tired of trying on outfit after outfit like a model but when Tony promised it was the last on he gave in with a sigh he retreated into the bathroom.

When he came out Tony felt his eyes widen to saucers. It was a standard black sleek jacket over a smooth white shirt and slacks with a dark green tie to fit. "Damn." Tony couldn't help himself say. Loki didn't seem to notice, tugging his jacket into place.

"Are you sure the suit is necessary?"

"Yes, yes_, god _yes- I mean, sure, it looks good and-"

"Stark. Stop talking." Tony nodded, sliding on his own jacket and leading the way out the bedroom_. I'm about to take the God of Mischief to a public event with his magic fully accessible when he is prone to randomly throw spasms_, Tony's more practical mind screamed. But he was too busy listening to the other side.

_Damn he looks fine in that suit._


	5. Just Pretend

**THANK YOU TO ALL THE REVIEWS AND FOLLOWERS AND AKJFNLSJDKTNGRE;JVN**

**I am completely not sorry for the amount of feels in this chapter.**

* * *

**5) Just Pretend**

Loki knew Tony was an idiot and the past hour had just confirmed this fact more. Firstly, he had returned his magic to him. Secondly, he was taking him to a public event with no way to monitor his out bursts. And thirdly…

He would not _shut up_.

"So, please explain this whole 'World Tree' shit, because I am getting nothing. Are we all connected to it, or just Asgardians? And why is Earth cut off from the rest of the other Realms? That's kind of unfair. Really unfair, actually. Do you know how many centuries we thought he were alone?"

Loki wiped a hand over his forehead with a groan. Tony was driving probably twice the allowed limit and he was sitting next to him, to his dismay. The car was sleek and shiny and looked extremely expensive which wasn't much of a surprise. The outer layer was cream and inside was black coal leather. Comfortable, but not even that could make him invulnerable to Tony's nonstop talking.

"Midgard was cut off from the other Realms because mortals are pathetic." Tony thought a bit before shrugging.

"Who's more pathetic? The mortal or the god who wants to mate with the mortal?" He shot him a glare and decided to look out the window. Not facing him seemed to have previously discourage his bubbliness so he hoped he got the message. "Anyway, as I was saying-"

He let out a loud groan.

The car trip lasted around half an hour and during a stop light Loki had leapt to the opportunity and strangled some sense into him. With a slightly paling face he hastily shut up and within ten minutes they pulled up to a large dome-shaped building. Loki thought it looked more like a glass bowl then somewhere to host special events and the gold rims on the walls and door handles made him feel dizzy. He'd had enough of gold in his childhood and hoped that maybe the Midgardians would think less of the color. Obviously not.

"Okeydokey Loki," Stark said, making his ears burn at the use of his name to aid a pun. He twisted in his seat to face him. "There are going to be lots of cameras and people screaming and body guards and all that fun stuff. So…don't kill anyone while cameras are pointing at you, because you're with me and that could ruin my image. Okay?" He sent him a pointed look- '_I'm not a child_.' Seriously, did he really think that he would turn into a homicidal maniac just because he had his power back?...Okay, that _was_ a fair enough thought.

But still.

Tony nodded and opened the car door and Loki followed, climbing out and looking to the entrance. Hoards of people (mostly screaming women) were being held back by police and camera flashes were going off everywhere; he had to shield his eyes at first glance.

"I LOVE YOU TONY!"

"Iron Man's the best!"

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

"Sign my shirt!"

Comments like this arose from all around them and Loki was surprised to see Tony casually walk in between the walls of Midgardians, passing each one off with a wave or a peace sign or something that was definitely the Stark trademark. Loki just stood there, slightly intimidated by all the attention. Tony took another three steps before turning to him. "You coming Lo?"

Great, another nickname.

He didn't have time to be irritated as he cautiously walked over to him, not really sure what to do. The bright flashes seemed to double with each step he took. Tony smiled and tugged on his jacket sleeve, leading him towards the doors. "What's the matter 'I Want Everyone to Kneel Before Me'? You look like you've just lost an invasion. Oh, wait."

"I'm just not very used to…positive attention," he said bitterly, following Tony in through the glass double doors. He might've caught the slightly sympathetic look at that comment but he was too engrossed at the glittering inside shell of the building. Chandeliers hung from the tall ceiling, intricate patterns gazed the white walls and the carpet was a rich red mixed in with a bit of spotted marble for the small stairs. Draped tables with different helpings of food were laid out and people in smart suits were standing around talking, the odd woman in a shining dress or pencil skirt. He found himself stopping and examining it all.

"Not like Asgard?" Tony said with a chuckle. Loki softly shook his head.

"No…nothing like Asgard…"

"Tony!" They both flicked their heads over to see a dark-skinned man in a suit that obviously was a part of the army or air force.

"Rhodey!" Stark greeted him with a pat on the back and a smile. Rhodey looked him up and down.

"Where've you been? I haven't heard from you since…" he paused. "New York." Tony scratched his neck.

"Yeah, you know, just-"

"Hanging out with your new friends?" Loki watched the conversation, feeling a little awkward.

"Rhodey, come on. They're just co-workers."

"From different planets," Rhodey said. "Just be careful, okay?" Tony rolled his eyes but nodded. Rhodey smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder before his eyes slid over to Loki. He lifted his chin in a confronting manner. "Who's your date?" Loki's eyes widened to saucers and Tony fumbled for his words.

"What- no! No, he's just ahhh…my-"

"Old collogue," Loki said smoothly, stepping forward to shake his hand. The man still didn't look too sure so Loki let his lies work their magic. "From England. Almost forgot about each other before yesterday, actually." He still looked skeptical.

"What did you study?"

"Mythology." He said without missing a beat, arching a competitive brow. Rhodey glanced between Tony and Loki for a few seconds before backing off.

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr…?"

"Tom," Loki smiled. "Call me Tom." Rhodey nodded and gave Tony a look that mirrored Bruce's from yesterday and left them be. Tony let out a long breath he had probably been holding and a squeaky, nervous laugh.

"Tom? Really?" Loki straightened out his jacket.

"What? Is it not to your liking?"

"Well you saved me a whole lot of explaining, so…" he slapped him on the shoulder. "Shall we, Tom?" They made their way to the more crowded center of the building, Tony arching his head this way and that looking for the business man he came for. After a while he stopped when he spotted a particular group of men in the thicket of the crowd. He quickly groomed his hair back, did up the last button on his shirt and took a deep breath. "Okay, that's Stanford. I need to go over there and make a good impression while you…" he glanced to him. "Socialize."

"_Socialize_?" Loki screwed his face up in disgust. "With _who_?"

"Tony! I knew you would come!" called a voice a tad too enthusiastic. Loki and Tony both turned around to see Happy walk over with a huge grin on his face.

"No you didn't," Tony dead-panned. Then a spark lit up his eyes. "Happy, why don't you talk with my old collogue, Tom?" Before Loki knew what was happening he was being shoved towards the man. "He's from England." Happy raised his eyebrows at him but quickly returned his attention to Stark.

"And you're going to talk to Earl?"

"On my way," Tony waved him off and strolled over to Mr Stanford and his groupies, leaving Loki and Happy to stand awkwardly.

"So…" Happy started. "England." Loki face palmed.

Tony approached Earl with twisting hands and a slightly sweaty brow. It's been a while since he had been nervous in the presence of anyone so this was like a bucket of cold water to the face. As soon as he was two feet away from them they all seemed to look up at the exact same time. _Oh god. Clones_.

Earl himself wasn't a very stand-out man with a standard navy suit with gold buttons and groomed back nut brown hair over his pale face. He was quite a plump man in his sixties or so and smelt of lemon soap and cherry wine. Tony coughed a bit before smiling.

"Mr Stanford! I heard there was some class joining us this evening." He out-stretched an arm towards him. The others around them had mixed reactions to his appearance, some scrunching their noses up and hissing in another's ear whilst other gave a look of knowing admiration.

"Ahhh, yes," Earl said thickly, shaking his hand with a slightly strained smile. "Mr Stark, yes? Hamburger, scotch and carrots, was it?" Tony forced out a hearty laugh.

"Not one of my best days, I must admit."

"Yes, well, you owe me a pair of shoes," he mused. Tony chuckled and stuck his hands in his pants pockets so they couldn't see him entwining them in nervousness.

Loki examined the different assortments of food and drink laid out on the tables. To be honest, he had no idea what anything was. He had escaped the awkwardness with Happy a few minutes back as their conversation didn't go any further then 'I hear England is cold'. He had excused himself and wasn't intending on returning.

He lifted a tiny spoon and scooped a bit of a bubbly black substance, giving it a sniff before lowering it back down. _What in the Nine Realms is __**that**__?_

"Caviar," came a young woman's voice and he glanced up to see a short Midgardian in a sparkling silver dress, her golden hair held with a diamond clip. Her red painted lips curved upwards. "If you were wondering what it was. You put it on crackers or bread. Or by itself, if you're really daring." Loki raised an eyebrow, taking it as a challenge and licked a tiny bit from the edge. He immediately regretted it, dropping it down and covering his mouth. _Oh gods what have I done_. He coughed and wiped his chin.

"That is _appalling_," he gagged.

"Shouldn't be, for a hundred dollars a bowl full," the woman chuckled, stepping closer. "My name's Eva. Yours?"

"Tom," he finally got out after getting the taste out of his mouth. He glanced around until he found where Tony was talking to the group of other men, laughing occasionally and probably having a splendid conversation.

"I haven't ever seen you around here before, Tom," Eva said, nudging even closer. She was trying to flirt with him and if it were any other occasion Loki would've willingly flirted back, but for some reason his mind was rejecting everything about her. _Her hair, her curves, her height, her smell- that's it, she doesn't smell right_. He sniffled his nose and kept his eyes on Tony. _His hair is perfect, his smell is perfect, he's perfect_-

He quickly froze. Oh no. He couldn't be having another session again. Not here. "So, are you doing anything after this event is over?" Eva purred.

_What are all those other Midgardians doing around him? Stark is MINE. They're getting too close to him. I have to fend them off_.

"I actually recently got this new apartment with an indoor Jacuzzi."

_MINEMINEmineminemINEMINEminemineMINE _

Loki's face pulled into a glare and he trudged forward with an aggression to his footing. He could hear Eva's confused calls from behind him but he paid them no heed. His only focus was Stark. _MY Stark_.

Tony was actually surprised the conversation was going well. When your starter topic is 'I puked on your seven hundred dollar shoes last time we met' for it to actually go his way was pretty unbelievable. But Earl was laughing at his jokes and his followers seemed to have mentally put him in his good books. He was so close to bringing up his company when he felt someone come up from behind him.

Two arms wrapped around his torso and a soft purring hummed in his ear and if this was happening to anyone else he would be laughing his ass off. But, he wasn't somebody else. He was Tony Stark and Loki was wrapped around him like a strait-jacket and the looks of shock from the other men's faces proved that it wasn't in fact his own horrified hallucination. "Aw crap."

"Have you forgotten to mention your little friend?" Earl tried to make a pun but he too looked quite disturbed. Tony heard a comment from beside him, "Is he _purring_?" He wiggled out of Loki's grip and grabbed his shoulders, facing him.

"Loki," he hissed quietly, "you can't do this now. You just can't, okay? Now snap out of it." He tapped him lightly on the head which did nothing to help the situation. Loki's eyes were blown and he was wearing that dopy smile again and _dammit stop purring_! The more he was holding him the louder it was getting until people who were walking past began to frown. He quickly let go which led to Loki embracing him and digging his nose into the side of his neck.

"Well," Earl chuckled, glancing to his companions, "I always thought you were the ladies' man, Stark, but if swing _that_ way then-"

Loki's eyes suddenly turned to slits and his muscles tensed, leering over Stark's shoulder. And then he growled. Legit _growled_. He upturned his lip, baring his teeth and made a sound that resembled a rabid dog ready to attack. Tony pushed him back when he tried to move forward. "Whoa! No, bad idea." He shook him a bit, gritting his teeth in aggitation. "SNAP OUT OF IT." He didn't know why he even bothered.

"Is he alright?"

"He's behaving like an animal- he just fucking _growled_ at us!"

"What has he been drinking?"

Tony hung his head and massaged the crease below his hairline. Loki just pressed his skull against his, purring again. Why did he fucking bother indeed. He turned to Earl with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, but my friend and I are going to have to call it a day." He didn't wait for a response when he began pushing Loki towards the doors. He almost made it out, too, when he felt a grab at his shoulder.

"Tony, where are you going?"

Rhodey stopped short when Loki snapped his head towards him, the growling vicious as it was deafening. _Shit, shit, shit, shit_. The man looked more confronted than confused. "What's wrong with hi-?"

**SLASH**.

Everyone within a five feet radius gasped and paused in shock. Rhodey blinked a few times before lightly dabbing the bloody scratch mark on his left cheek. Tony couldn't even speak. The words to describe how absolutely pissed he was at Loki did not exist. Yet the growling continued and he had to snap back into action mode.

He pulled Loki roughly out the doors, ignoring the paparazzi and the fangirls and almost threw Loki in the passenger's seat of his prize Lamborghini, grudgingly getting in after him and slamming his foot on the accelerator. Loki had begun to purr again and was trying to climb over the gear sticks to snuggle. _Ohhh no. Not now, buddy_.

Tony shoved him back into his seat, not caring how hard. "_What the absolute __**FUCK**_?!" he screamed at him. "Do you know how much SHIT YOU CAUSED? DO YOU?!" Loki's hazy green eyes didn't show any sign of regret and the purring was burning in his ears like lava was coaxing them. "No? Well, let me give you a list: you ruined ANY chances of me getting a thumbs up from Earl Stanford, which would boost the company and get me on awesome terms with Pepper and that was the reason why we even fucking bothered to come here. And then you humiliated me (which is going to be all over the papers, mind you) and then you ATTACKED MY BEST FRIEND. Do you know how pissed off I am at you? No, pissed off is too kind, ENRAGED maybe?"

Purrs. He let out an angry cry. "FUCK YOU, LOKI!" he hit his head against the steering wheel. "FUCK. YOU!" The anger was blinding. He couldn't drive so he parked in the nearest car park he could find, not bothering to know whereabouts.

He didn't know how long he sat there with Loki purring beside him with his head in his hands, but when he finally realized it had been two hours the purring had stopped and Loki was asleep. He didn't know when the anger had melted down into helplessness and other mixed emotions he couldn't make sense of and he didn't know when he realized it wasn't really Loki's fault. But he was prone to be childish and this grudge would be held for a long while. Long after Rhodey's scars had healed.

He sighed deeply. It felt good to get that scream-fest out of his system and not have Loki really hear it. He knows what it's like to think you're in control but then realize you don't have half a clue about the actions you're taking.

_Whoa. Deep thoughts for three in the afternoon. I need fresh air_. He clicked the door open and stepped out.

**~O~**

_MINEMINEMineminemineMINEMINEHEATHOTSTARKTONYONYINE ED-_

When Loki woke up he could tell things had gotten bad. He was slumped in an awkward position and the car was parked outside a 7Eleven. He groaned and arched his back, wincing at the crack that came with it. He pulled off his tie and unbuttoned his jacket, escaping the feeling of being too bundled up. His eyes scanned the car for any sign of Stark and when he found non he clicked the door open and headed towards the service station.

Stark appeared through the sliding doors, his jacket discarded, with a plastic bag in hand. As soon as he saw Loki he smiled sweetly. "Hey honey, how was your sleep?" he asked when he reached him. Loki frowned.

"Wha-?"

**SLAP**.

Without any warning his swung his arm across his cheek and a burn ignited in his skin. Loki's eyes went wide and he slowly twisted his head back to face Tony's completely innocent face. After a while, "…I deserved that, didn't I?"

"Yes. And no, you really don't want to know." Tony finished up, walking over to the side of the bricked building and slumping down with a sigh. Loki rubbed his cheek tenderly and watched as he pulled out two small tubs of a chocolate colored substance. "Here," he snapped his fingers. "Sit."

"Slapping me, then ordering me around? Have you seemingly forgotten I'm completely adept with my magic, Stark?" Tony didn't answer, just placing the tub down and drumming his fingers on top of it. Curiousness took over and Loki found himself sitting down despite himself, picking the item up. "What is it?"

"Chocolate pudding," Tony answered, ripping the cover of his off and dipping his finger in. "My nanny used to give it to me when I achieved something at school or did something good for someone. It's really my comfort food now."

"And we are eating comfort food because…?"

"Because life is messed up and I need comforting."

"But how does food even-"

"_Do not question the pudding_. Now shut up and eat." Loki blinked a bit. Stark had never been this snappy with him before. Sarcastic, yes, but these comments were different. He had an edge to his voice that reminded him of when he threw him off the bed. _Oh great, another grudge_. He sighed and ripped off his pudding lid, lifting it to his lips and licking a little on the side.

…Well damn. It was delicious.

He began scooping it into his mouth at an embarrassing rate, not caring about the other Midgardians who gave them strange looks when passing by. "Holy shit, calm down," Tony mumbled, slurping his own up. "It's not going anywhere." But Loki had already finished it and was licking the remainder off his lips and fingers.

"Is there anymore?" Tony waved him off.

"Yeah, a couple of tubs at home." They sat there as Tony finished off his pudding in a comfortable silence. Which made Loki think. Since when had their relationship escalated to this level of normality? Since when have they sat in each other's company and _enjoyed_ it? It seemed just days ago they were having glare-offs and spitting insults in a heartbeat. Just the fact that they even had developed a relationship without even trying scared him. _Stark is still the enemy. The childish, smart, teasing, snarky enemy_.

Oh god. How had he let himself get in this deep?

"Hey," Tony nudged him. Loki blinked out of his thoughts and watched as he chucked his empty pudding cup behind him and pulled a few shirts out of the bag. "I got you a few more t-shirts because the other didn't fit well. And even though you look fine in a suit you can't wear it for days on end. So…" he passed over a three shirts- one forest green, one grey and one a smoky charcoal. "I hope they fit. Are the colors right? I'm no fashionista but I think I nailed it. This doesn't mean I'm not still angry with you, by the way."

Loki stroked a finger over the soft cotton, his eyes glazed over in thought and emotion. Not only did he buy him clothes, he was concerned if he had got the right colors to his liking. Was Stark as freaked out as him that they were suddenly this friendly with each other? "They're fine…" he mentally cursed when his voice broke in the middle, exposing what was going on underneath his placid expression.

"Hey, you okay?" Tony's voice was concerned and empathetic and Loki just wanted to punch him.

"Don't ask that if you don't really care, Stark," Loki forced a smirk and straightened up.

"Well, I do care, so spill."

_Damn him, damn him_.

"You're not supposed to." Tony frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Then Loki snapped. He chucked the shirts in his face and sharply got to his feet. "Don't you get it Stark? _I'm_ the villain and _you're_ the hero. We don't get along, we don't _care_ and we defiantly aren't on the same side so stop pretending to be!"

They stared at each other for a while, Loki breathing heavily through his teeth and Tony never leaving his eyes off him. _The idiot. He thinks we can just leave my past behind me and domesticate me? Doesn't he know what I've __**done**__? Doesn't he realize I'm a monster? Oh, he thinks he can see past me. Stupid, stupid, __**stupid**_ _mortal_. Tony stared for a little while longer before letting out a breath that might've been a poor excuse for a snort. His mouth turned up in a small crease.

"You know, you think we're just pretending." He got up, grabbed his bag and dusted his hands on his pants. He made his way to the car, stopping before he passed Loki. "But I think this is the only thing in your life that actually means something real to you." He shrugged, a gesture far too light for the heaviness of his words, and continued onwards.

Loki couldn't speak. He only listened to Tony's footsteps as they echoed further and further away and he couldn't bring himself to follow this time.

**~O~**

Tony hesitated, but pulled the car out of the parking lot and made his way back home. Loki had his magic and he could teleport back to the mansion if he wanted to. Or had to. He knew it would probably be the latter and it stung. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. It wasn't _supposed_ to sting. It was Loki for crying out loud.

"Tony, Tony, Tony…" he mumbled, shaking his head. "You are an _idiot_."

The drive home was quiet and felt empty. It was almost five when he finally pulled up to his house and he wanted nothing more than to eat pizza and mope. His emotions had taken a roller-coaster ride today and he wanted something that would deprive him from thinking. TV sounded nice.

"_Sir, you have three missed called from Kernel Rhodes_."

"Dammit," he mumbled, chucking the plastic bag on the couch and slumbering into the kitchen. "JARVIS, I need pizza."

"_Right away Sir_." He slumbered over to a glass bottle of scotch and reached for it, but faltered. Drinking this experience away screamed pathetic. But hey, he was Tony Stark. Pathetic was his middle name. He unscrewed the lid and pulled out a glass and poured himself a large drink. "_Should I ask how the Charity Event went, Sir_?" He shook his head as he took a long slurp. He was just starting to stop thinking when his phone suddenly went off. He rolled his eyes and pulled it out his pocket and almost dropped his drink when he saw who it was.

Earl Stanford.

"Shit." He put his glass down and cleared his throat before pressing ACCEPT. "Yes Sir?"

"_Tony_!" Not the greeting he was expecting.

"Sir, I can kind of explain what happened today-"

"_No, no, Tony, I know what kind of things people are smoking these days and trust me, I've seen worse_." Tony frowned. Where exactly was he going with this? "_Look, I know you were trying to get your opinion about our companies into our conversation and I find you a rather charming man. Not anyone could have the guts to talk to me after humiliating themselves first go. I like your spark. So I'll give your CEO a call and see what we can do._" Tony had to grip the counter.

"W-wait, you're serious?" Earl chuckled.

"_Oh course! I love the changes to Stark Industries and I know not everyone agrees with it. So I'll help you out on it, hey_?" He seriously couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Y-yes! Thank you, thank you so much."

"_Hopefully things go well, then! Pleasure meeting you Mr Stark, and your friend as well, no matter how brief_." He hung up and Tony basked in the afterglow. He performed a massive fist-pump.

"Nailed it!" he grinned. The microwave went off and he happily grabbed his pizza and walked into the living room. Once again, he found himself almost dropping all his shit.

Loki was standing quite awkwardly in the middle of the room, absentmindedly scratching at his wrist. The first thing that came to Tony's mind was that he wasn't spastic. He didn't look any different from when he left him. He came here by choice and Tony felt all the little emotions crawl back into his brain and he felt like a teenage girl in a soap opera.

"Um," Loki started, staring at the floor as if he was reading notes off it. Tony wasn't used to hearing him stutter. "I want to…" he sighed and wiped his face over and finally lifted his head to face him. "A…pologize. For what I did…even though I don't really know what…I just…" H was ripping himself open, exposing everything and Tony really didn't know how to take it. "I feel like I've been alone for a long time…" Loki fidgeted and looked to the floor again. "And I'm not sure…how to…um…"

Tony smiled. Because he got it. Around heaps of people, praised all the time, feeling like you're on top of the world but none of that mattered because in the end your alone when you're sleeping in your bed at night. He was pretty sure there was a bunch of other shit that they both had gone through differently but if they shared that same feeling then it almost didn't matter. He didn't let Loki finish because he knew he couldn't. He walked over to him and gave him a pat on the shoulder before flopping on the couch, placing his pizza beside him.

"Hey reindeer games, could you pass the bag?" Loki looked to him with bewilderment in his eyes. Having Thor for a brother he probably would've expected a giant hug. With stiff movements he passed the plastic bag to him and Tony nodded in appreciation. He dug through it and half way through his search he felt the pillows dip as Loki sat down next to him. "You know, I went to a DVD store while you were sleeping and guess what?" he pulled out the cover with a grin and Loki squinted at the title. Then his eyes widened.

"No, we are _not_ watching that."

"Sure we are!"

"Stark, I will not be ushered into watching a children's film." Tony scoffed.

"Bambi is not just a 'children's film', it's a classic!"

"I don't care."

"You should, you're watching it." Loki rolled his eyes, realizing that arguing with him was pointless. They didn't need to say anything more on what had transpired the past few hours, because Tony hadn't touched his abandoned drink on that kitchen counter and in Loki's eyes he knew he was forgiven.


	6. They're Manly Tears

**At last, the long awaited Bambi scene. I had to watch this movie about five times thanks to this story which I definately did not enjoy or cry in at all because of all the nostlagia and oh god BAMBI'S MOOOOM**

**Thank you for all the reviews and favourites and- HOLY SHIT ALMOST 100 FOLLOWERS HELP I CAN'T TAKE IT**

* * *

**6) They're Manly Tears**

How did it come to this?

How did the powerful sorcerer Loki come to be sitting on the couch, bowl of popcorn in his hands with Stark sitting giddily next to him about to watch a movie suitable for mortals aged barely above a fetus? Tony grinned and dug his hand into the bowl of popcorn, shoving it into his mouth and chewing loudly. Loki reeled back, disgusted.

"Ofkay, can oo pfflease-"

"Tony, swallow." Tony looked to him and slowly gulped the mouthful down but he was giving him a strange look. Loki frowned. "…What?"

"Nothing, I just don't think you've ever called me Tony before, that's all…" Loki scoffed.

"You've been making up ridiculous nicknames for me for days now so I think that would call it even." Tony shrugged but was now wearing a dopey smile and Loki made a mental note to continue to call him Stark- if he got this reaction every time be used his first name then it's not something he wanted to do often. The smaller man leaned over him and snatched up the remote control and aimed it at the TV proudly.

"JARVIS! Lights!" A low hum sounded and the room was engulfed in darkness.

"_Would you like some candles, Sir?_"

"NO," they both snapped.

"Okay," Tony said, thumb teasing on the play button. "Prepare to watch some magic." Loki rolled his eyes and watched as the movie started. A company called 'Disney' came up with some sort of fortress or castle in the background. "Ahhh Disney," Tony said as if he was referring to an old friend, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "Making childhoods worthwhile."

"I'm assuming this is where the movie was made?" Loki asked.

"Eh, close enough. He was a guy that made the most bad-ass movies ever. And by bad-ass I mean fluffy kids movies." Loki snorted and returned his eyes to the screen. Loud blaring music suddenly sounded along with the title, 'Bambi'. Then…oh god, there was _singing_. A full blown choir was bursting through the speakers. _What have I signed up for? '…Love is a song that never ends?' Oh gods, murder me_. Tony was the complete opposite, sinking into the cushions and bobbing his head to it and _humming_.

"Stark, if you wish to stay alive then STOP HUMMING." Tony glanced to him with childlike eyes and his face split into a smirk. Loki watched as the singing died down and a few charming scenery drawings panned by, showing a forest. The animation was actually quite pretty and it was new to see them move instead of simply being on display like in the halls of Asgard. He got a few looks of birds and forest creatures waking up before everything suddenly became frantic. Birds were chirping to rabbits and then the rabbits would signal the quails and everyone started to run off.

'_Come on Friend Owl!_'

'_It's happened! It's happened!_'

'_The new Prince has been born!_'

'_We're going to see him_.'

'Friend Owl' joined them and he finally got a look at what the fuss was about. A doe was lounging in her den and beside her was her new born fawn, obviously Bambi. Tony 'aww'd but Loki was still trying to figure out why all the other animals would care. It's just a deer. The animals all said hello and Friend Owl started hooting playfully at it, it's face looming freakishly close.

"Urg," Tony shuddered. "I hated that freaking owl." Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Look at it! Creepy ass bird…"

"But it's just a picture on a sc-"

"Oh! Shhh, he's trying to walk!"

Bambi lifted his back legs up and whipped his tail in the air. He then proceeded to wobble all over the place, his twig-like legs bending over each other in such a retarded matter that Loki found himself chuckling a bit next to Tony's full blown laughter. It did remind him of when Thor tried on battle amour far too big for him and he ended up crashing into a servant. "Look how stoned he looks! Ohhh, man…" After that excitement was over all the animals decided to leave.

'_What 'cha gonna call him_?' the annoying rabbit called 'Thumper' asked. The mother looked lovingly to Bambi.

'_I think I'll call him…Bambi_.'

'_Bambi?...Well, I guess that's alright_.' He walked off.

'_Bambi…my little Bambi…_'

She reminded him of Frigga and Loki had to remind himself that he was comparing animated animals to gods. "Like it so far?" Tony asked, shuffling closer to him. Loki face a face, stretching his arms out.

"When is it over?"

"Don't give me that, I saw you laughing." Tony smirked. Loki shook his head but couldn't keep the smile off his face. The last thing the scene showed was a mighty deer standing on a hill top overlooking them.

"Who's that?" Tony shuffled closer.

"I CAN'T TELL YOU," Tony whispered dramatically in his ear. Loki pushed him off and watched Bambi and his mother on an outing.

"Remind me again what the point of this movie is?" he asked.

"There doesn't need to be a point, it's Bambi!" Loki sighed.

"And what does Bambi have to do with anything?"

"It just shows you a little deer's life, no need to be a grump about it."

"Yes, but why does a deer have to concern-"

"PASS ME THE POPCORN AND WATCH THE FUCKING MAGIC." Tony snatched the popcorn bowl out of his lap and pulled his knees to his chest in a sulking manner. Loki didn't know how someone could aggressively watch a movie, but Tony pulled it off.

Bambi fell over when he ran into Thumper and his family and Tony began laughing as he tried to get up and epically failed, landing on top of Thumper in the process. It then showed him trying to speak and succeeding in saying 'bird' and 'butterfly' and then running into a skunk that was in a field of flowers.

'_Flower!_' Bambi said. Thumper laughed.

'_That's not a flower! That's a_-'

'_Oh, that's alright_…' the skunk blushed. '_You can call me flower if you want to_…' it giggled. '_I don't mind_…'

Tony tilted his head to the side. "I've forgotten…is that a male skunk?" Loki frowned and tapped his chin.

"I looks like it could be either, but then again all of them do."

"But it's voice…"

"And it's attitude…" They watched as the scene continued.

'_Pretty! Pretty flower!_' The skunk rolled over and giggled again.

'_Oh gosh!_' it blushed.

The looked to each other.

"Girl?"

"Girl," Loki confirmed. The next scene to come on was rather strange. It was more of a musical sequence that showed Bambi's first thunderstorm. He was quite impressed by the way the certain instruments and vocals imitated the different stages of the weather. He froze when he felt a body pressed against him and a hand gripping his arm.

"…Stark…what are you doing?"

"The thunder is scary…" Loki tried to shove him off but he stuck like glue. "Hey! You owe me, okay? Besides, weren't you ever scared of thunderstorms when you were little?" He sent him an obvious look. "Oh, right. God of Thunder for a brother and all…" Loki had the reply 'he's not my brother' teething on his lips but found it pointless in declaring it. Thor wasn't here to hear it and he couldn't be bothered with tiring thoughts like that now.

For the next few minutes it showed the mother teaching a now talking Bambi that the meadow could be very dangerous even though it's desired and them frolicking through the grass. They met up with another deer and Bambi ran into a- oh god, now there was _two_ of them. And this one had the most annoying little girly voice he's ever heard.

After that irritating encounter a massive heard of deer suddenly froze as the large one from the hilltop before emerged from the forest, grand in every way. Odin immediately came to mind. He stopped when he reached Bambi, looked down to him and when Bambi tried a smile he continued on.

"Reminds me of my dad," Tony mumbled. Loki pretended he didn't feel grateful he wasn't the only one.

'_He stopped and looked at me_.'

'_Yes, I know_.'

'_Why was everyone stale? When he came on the meadow_?'

'_Everyone respects him. For out of all the deer in the forest, not one has lived half as long. He's very brave and very wise. That's why he's known as the Great Prince of the forest_.'

"Explain to me again why forest animals care about other species?"

"Do you want pudding?"

"Yes please."

"Then shut up." Loki sighed wearily. Watching this movie in return for chocolate pudding might have been perceived as a petty exchanged, but damn that stuff was _good_. _Okay, what was the deer doing now? Oh…the music's getting dramatic…hunters? Hmm, this actually might get interesting_.

Bambi frantically looked around screaming for his mother as the animals scattered like droplets of water. The Great Prince swooped in to save him and all was well. _Oh. Perhaps not so gripping_.

"PHEW! That was intense!"

_Well, not for some_.

It then showed the seasons changing until it was winter and the young fawn was obsessing over the snow. He ran into Thumper again (_can some hunters just shoot that blasted thing?_) who showed him how to skate on the lake (_completely unrealistic_) and Loki had to put up with another minute of Tony's laughter blaring in his ear drum as Bambi kept twisting his legs over one another on the ice. They ran into a small den where that skunk was sleeping.

'_Wake up! Wake up Flower_!' The skunk woke and rubbed it's eyes.

'_Is it spring yet?_'

'_Nope! Winter's just started_.' Bambi smiled.

'_What're doing? Hibernating?_' Flower yawned.

'_Uh-huh…_'

'_What 'cha wanna do that for?_' It giggled.

'_All Flowers hibernate during the winter…well, good night…_' It bundled up and continued sleeping.

"I tried hibernating when I was seven." Loki raised an eyebrow. Tony was looking somewhere beyond the screen with a slightly traumatized look in his eyes. "Hid up on the top shelve of the wardrobe…lasted two days before the nanny got the broom…don't get me started on when I tried to find Narnia-"

"Stark, shhh. I'm watching."

"Oh, so you _are_ enjoying it."

"No, I just want you to stop talking." Tony huffed dramatically but stayed quiet never the less. The next few scenes were of Bambi and his mother getting through the hard patches of winter, having to eat bark strips off trees until there was barely anything left to eat. They looked longingly up at stripped trees with no bark on them, taken by other herds. Loki felt a little twitch of sympathy towards them, not knowing if they'd survive the winter. He quickly scolded himself. _They're just deer, Loki. Clam down_.

'_Winter sure is long, isn't it?_'

'_It seems long. But it won't last_.'

'_I'm awfully hungry, mother_.'

'_Yes…I know…_' She lovingly licked him on the head. Now he felt a pull at his heart strings there. _Oh god…what if they die of starvation? The mother's trying so hard to comfort her child…but she doesn't even know_…

_Wait, what the hell, Loki? Are you seriously having feelings towards these moving pictures_? He looked to Tony who was biting his lip, eyes unflinching from the screen. The next scene showed a patch of green grass poking through the snow in the meadow.

'_Bambi! Look! New spring grass_.' Bambi ate it up hungrily.

_Oh, thank the Nine. They have food. Good. Now hopefully nothing bad will happen. Wait…why is the music getting scary? Why is the mother suddenly looking around with an unnerving look to her eyes_? He felt Tony slowly snuggle up against his side but he barely noticed.

'…_Bambi…_' her eyes widened. '_Quick! The thicket!_'

The music leapt into an urgent pace and the two sprinted through the snow, gun shots following.

'_FASTER! FASTER, BAMBI! Keep running! Don't look back_!'

_Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods…_

Suddenly the music stopped and a particularly loud gunshot sounded. Tony's body hicked in a gasp and Loki's eyes were beginning to feel raw. Bambi kept on running, just as his mother said, all the way to the den. He smiled.

'_We made it_!' he looked to the entrance. '_We made it mother_!'

"Oh god this shit always gets me…" Tony bundled up his legs up and impritned himself into Loki's side.

'_We…mother?_' Bambi slowly walked out, looking around. '_MOOOTHHEERRR! Mother, where are you?_' he kept on looking, yelling out until he was back in the meadow, losing hope. "_Mother_?" he sobbed. He gasped and looked up to see the Great Prince standing before him.

'_Your mother can't be with you anymore_.' Bambi stared at him in shock before looking to the ground with sad eyes, a tear dripping down its face. '_Come. My son_.' They walked off into the snow-

Tony suddenly paused it. _Dammit_. He sat up and examined Loki's face with a bemused smile. "Are you…are you _crying_?" Loki battered him off, wiping his eyes.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort."

"Oh my god, you are so crying!" Loki scowled and looked to the moisture on his own cheeks.

"So are you!"

"They're manly tears. I didn't think you'd actually cry so I was crying on your behalf. But I see you've pretty much got that covered."

"I just got a lash in my eye."

"Oh, you are so kidding me with that excuse."

"Just shut up and get me my chocolate pudding!" Tony threw his head back and laughed but walked over to the kitchen and returned with two large packets of pudding. He ripped two tubs out from the cardboard skeleton and passed one to Loki, flopping down on the couch next to him. Loki eagerly ripped the top off and slurped at the side, both not bothering with spoons. As Tony practically drank his Loki bumped him with his shoulder.

"Play," he urged. Tony smirked and pointed the remote at the screen before scooting over to lay on Loki's side.

"_Are you sure you don't want any candles, Sir?_"

"Go away, JARVIS!" Tony pouted as he resumed the movie. Surprisingly, the following scene after the tragic death was of…birds singing. They were fluttering about with their mates, snuggling and smiling and-

Tony and Loki looked awkwardly to each other. "…Maybe you should-"

"Yeeeahhhh…" Stark tensed and leaned off him. Loki took another slurp of his pudding as Friend Owl angrily told them to shut up, but to no avail. Then he ran into Bambi, now fully grown with antlers. "Damn," Stark murmured. "Puberty was good to him…"

'_Hey Bambi!_'

Oh no.

'_Don't you remember me?_'

'_Thumper!_'

Loki groaned and glared at the rabbit. He'd hoped the wretched thing would be dead by now. Flower then walked over, but didn't look too different from when it was a child.

'_Hey fellas!_' came the deep manly voice.

The two almost spit their pudding all over the floor. "Holy shit, it's a dude!"

"But it…"

"It was so…"

Flower then proceeded to flutter his eyelashes and sniff the flowers. "Fuck that, he's either a girl with a deep voice or gay." They watched on to see the owl tell them about…love? Loki thinks it was about love. He made it sound like a horrible disease. Confident that they'd never catch this 'love disease' they trotted onwards with heads held high. Stark snorted. "So much swag…"

Flower then ran into…a lady skunk. He would say they flirted but they didn't even say anything to each other. It wasn't long before Flower was walking off with his mate. Stark looked bewildered. "Huh…not gay." The next to fall victim was Thumper. He was stopped by a very noisy rabbit. And by noisy he means _she did not stop singing_. They weren't even words.

"Ooo! I love this bunny!" Loki frowned.

"Don't tell me you fancied female rabbits in your youth, Stark."

"No, nothing like that. But look at it! It's like a walking marshmallow! It's so fluffy…" he reached a hand towards the screen. Okay, the rabbit _was_ extremely fluffy. He thought if he were to throw it at a wall it might bounce right off.

Bambi was the only one left and of course ran into his childhood play-mate Faline. Thank god her annoying voice was replaced with one that you could actually tolerate. They were together after Bambi heroically saved her from another deer looking to keep her for himself. Bambi and Faline then have a romantic endeavor, frolicking under the stars. That night Bambi met with the Great Prince who was showing him a human camp.

'_It is man. He is here again. There are many this time. We must go deep into the forest. Hurry! Follow me_!'

Bambi began to follow when he stopped. '_Faline_!' he ran off to get her. In the den Faline awoke.

'_Bambi? Bambi_!' she too went off to find him, leaving them separated. Loki leaned over Tony and grabbed another tub of pudding. The animals all scattered when the hunters attacked, sending the dogs on Faline. She ran to escape but was caught at a dead end. Of course Bambi came to the rescue, knocking them off and allowing for her to escape, but when leaping over a large ditch a gun shot fired and he fell limp. Loki hated the small gasp that escaped his lips.

"Aw crap…"

_Don't let Bambi die. You've already killed off his mother. Evil movie._

A fire started and Bambi still wouldn't get up. "Come on…come on…" Loki found himself chanting. The Great Prince walked up to him.

'_Get up Bambi. Get up_!'

Bambi tried but failed. '_You must get up! GET UP!_' Finally he got to his feet. '_Now, you must come with me_.' The two tried to escape the fire but was caught at the foot of a water fall. In one leap they jumped off and fell to the pool of water below.

The aftermath of the fire showed many animals stranded on a small piece of land in the middle of the lake, watching the forest ablaze. Faline was among them and was overjoyed when the Great Prince and Bambi swam over.

"Oh thank god…" Tony slumped. "Stupid movie making me worry for a stupid deer…"

The end of the movie was very much like the start. Thumper and his children (_Oh god, there's duplicates of him_) ushered Friend Owl into the thicket were they saw Faline with new born twins.

'_Well, I don't think I've seen such a familiar pair_,' Friend Owl chuckled. '_Prince Bambi ought to be very proud_.' It then showed Bambi and the Great Prince on the hilltop together.

And then it ended.

Loki let out a long sigh, stretching his neck and arms. "Well?" Tony asked, eyes wide and acquisitive. "Did you like it?"

"Um…" Loki hummed in thought.

"Good, wasn't it? Yeah, you know it was. Next, Lion King!" Loki gave a tired smile, getting up from the couch. Tony's brow crunched. "Where're you goin'?"

"I think that's enough 'magic' for me." He yawned and scratched his head. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Uh, mind asking me first? My house and all."

"I'm sorry, would you prefer a dirty god in your bed?"

"Depends which 'dirty' you're referring to." Loki rolled his eyes and decided to just do as he please, walking off down the hall. "Oh! I only have Pantene shampoo!" he called.

"And this concerns me, why?"

"I dunno, you look more like a L'Oreal guy…" Loki shook his head, ignoring the call of "Cos you're worth it!" from behind him.

**~O~**

Tony looked up from scanning files on his laptop on the bed when Loki walked out of the bathroom dressed in the charcoal shirt and suit pants. Steam breathed in from behind the door and Loki was still drying his hair with a fluffy towel. "How was the shower you took in _my_ bathroom?" Tony asked. Loki smirked, not responding but instead tussling the back of his hair to try and get the strands dry. "Holy shit." Tony's eyes went wide and Loki raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Your hair isn't slicked back…" Loki gave him a frown behind his pushed over black locks. "My entire view on the world is different now…" He rolled his eyes and chucked the towel into the corner of the room and pushed his hair back with his fingers.

"Better?"

"Nope. I can't un-see what has been seen…" Tony rubbed his eyes with his hands and caved in on himself. Loki ignored him and walked over to the bed, catching a glance at his laptop.

"What are you doing?" Tony uncurled and began tapping at the keyboard again.

"Finding all the news reports on what happened this afternoon at the Charity Event and deleting them before the go viral." Loki gritted his teeth and sat down on the bed.

"Was it really that bad?" he put on his best sympathetic voice.

"You don't want to know."

"No, tell me." When the billionaire looked at him he gave him a face of purity. "I want to know what I apologized for." He huffed.

"Fine. I was about to talk about my company with Stanford when you…came up and hugged me in a purring mess…in front of everyone…and you wouldn't stop…and then you growled at them…they were freaked out." Tony was waiting for maybe another apology, but all he got was…

Laughter. Uncapped, drawn out laughter.

He twisted around to fully see the god fall back onto the pillows, head tilted up and letting out barks of laughter at the ceiling. "Just..." he couldn't even speak he was laughing too hard. He swallowed and tried again. "Just picturing their _faces_!" Tony scoffed, returning to his computer.

"Yeah well fuck you."

All he got was a grin.

**~O~**

It was four AM when Loki noticed Tony wasn't in bed, which was definitely not because he was scooting closer to the other side of the bed to snuggle.

He searched blindly for second which consisted of stretching out in all directions until he could be compared to a star fish before opening his eyes with a squint. Stark was gone. He mentally shrugged to himself. He didn't really care if he was gone or not. That was before he looked to the little clock on the bedside table_. 4AM? Where would he be at this hour?_

He cursed his curious nature and pulled himself off the cushiony mattress and lumbered over to the large windows of the room which led out onto a balcony. Stark was standing there, looking out over the ocean, perfectly still. Loki frowned and pushed the glass door open with delicacy. "Tony?" _Dammit. Used his first name again_. Stark didn't notice. The small breeze ruffled his dress shirt he still had on and his short hair. "What are you doing out here?"

Finally Tony seemed to notice his presence and snorted. "I'm sorry darling, I'll come back to bed after I tuck in the kids." Loki just stood there, still waiting for an answer. Stark sighed, tilting his head upwards to the blue sky. "I couldn't sleep."

"Ah."

A pause.

"…New York…the Chitauri…" he wiped his face over. "It's just…" he took a deep breath. "It changed a lot around here...including me." He turned to him and gave a confounding look. "I look at you now and I can't help but think that you're going to switch sides again. It's creeping me out because we've gone through all this in the past few days and you haven't killed me, so the question is…when? You look so god damn _innocent_, but dammit Loki you've _killed_ people. You've tried to kill me. When all this is over…will you just go back to that?" Loki stared at him, a mask of contemplation protecting him. "If it is then I feel stupid because I don't think I could bring myself to kill you one day after this. And…" he shook his head and slapped a hand down on the edge of the balcony. "I feel _really_ stupid because I'm sure you'd have no problem with that."

Loki froze. He took it all in, absorbing every word like a sponge of despondency. _Of course I could kill Stark. But it's not exactly a matter of capability._ He wanted to reward him for thinking all this through, but then again he was a genius. Could they go back to the way things were after this?

Of course not. It would be stupid to think otherwise.

He exhaled long and deep, strolling over to the complicated man. "I don't think I could bring myself to _kill_ you." Tony glanced up at him. "I could indiscreetly give you a head start." Tony started a smile before giving a confronting stare.

"So you won't kill me in my sleep?"

"Think about our situation, Stark." He nodded shortly.

"Right. But when this is over?" Loki's mouth creased.

"I think we can both agree that I wouldn't be able to put a dagger in you if the last thing I remember about us is watching Bambi whilst eating chocolate pudding." Tony chuckled and nodded, looking back to the view.

"Good to know."

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**So for the first time we have an end note! **

**Okay you smart cookies, if you have any suggestions I would be delighted to hear them. Anything you want me to put Tony and Loki through, just name it, cos I got a bit of time on my hands before other plot points come in. Seriously, anything from Pink Berry to shopping sprees to manicures to other incredibly manly events. GO CRAZY LIKE I DID TWO YEARS AGO **


	7. Big Dippers, Arc Reactors and Chocolate

**Medal for the weirdest chapter title ever.**

**I broke fifty reviews AND fifty pages AND 100 followers! STEP ASIDE HOLLYWOOD I GOT FANS NOW**

**Thank you to SmellsLikeCyanide and skydancer2ooo for your suggestions on this chapter- I used your ideas the most but thank you to other suggestions as well, they may arrise later in the story :D**

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**7) Big Dippers, Arc Reactors and Chocolate Smeared Gods**

Tony had heard Loki laugh for the first time last night and decided he liked it. So when he saw an advertisement for the city carnival he just had to take a closer look.

Loki and him had gone shopping to buy Loki some more clothes, with Loki's disguise still on obviously. That still didn't stop numerous people from stopping Tony for autographs or pictures but he was perfectly fine with that, just weary of the paparazzi who were snapping shots of him and Loki probably thinking that he was his new squeeze. He made sure not to tell Loki of this especially.

Tony was mostly the one picking out different suggestions of clothing since the god rejected anything that wasn't made of the most expensive leather on earth or ridiculous fur and cotton. "I am a prince of Asgard- these are throw away dags to what I usually wear."

"Well welcome to earth, asshole. Now hurry up and try on your hoodie." The arguments were very brief. They exited the final clothes store with three pairs of skinny jeans (he didn't care what Loki said, they looked _damn_ good), a pair of trackies, a grey hoodie and that stupid leather jacket he ended up being persuaded into buying. Tony decided to stop flirting with the checkout chicks when he saw the flare up of jealousy in Loki's eyes. He really didn't want a replay of yesterday.

They stopped outside a Wendy's when Tony picked up the brochure with the advert on it. "Oh my god," he murmured. Loki gave a quizzical hum from beside him, slurping on his small chocolate thick shake. He seemed to want everything with the word 'chocolate' in it as of late. Who knew he had such a sweet tooth? "The carnival in the city. We so have to go."

"What does this 'carnival' inquire?"

"Uh, _everything_." He turned to look at the raised eyebrow and his shoulders slumped. "You've never been to a Carnival? Festival? Fair?"

"We have festivities in Asgard and feasts," he shrugged.

"Yeah? Does Asgard have a Big Dipper?" Loki simply stared. "My man, you have missed out on one of the only things worth living for. I'd say it's _almost_ better than chocolate pudding, but it come pretty damn close." He got an enthusiastic straighten of his posture for that. "So yeah, we're going."

"Excuse me, I don't remember agreeing."

"Why not?"

"I want to go home. I'm tired."

"Too bad."

"It's your fault for pushing me off the bed and waking me early."

"Hey, you would not let go of me, okay?" Loki just huffed and gave his attention to his drink, sucking on the straw. Tony replayed that conversation in his head a few times before he frowned. "Wait, did you just call my place 'home'?" The taller man's eyes froze, not looking at him. He paused mid-slurp.

"…Hm?"

"You said 'I want to go _home'_." Loki didn't respond and Tony gave him a bemused smile. After a bit,

"Oh, slip of the tongue." He waved him off. "I thought we were discussing this carnival thing." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah. So, you game?" Loki sighed and strained his neck. "You aren't afraid of going, are you?" he raised a challenging eyebrow. Loki's eyes went wild.

"Why in the Nine Realms would I be afraid of something like a carnival?"

"Oh, nothing, just some of the scariest rides there." He stretched his arms out. "Standard test of manly-ness and all…" Loki narrowed his eyes. He finished off his drink in one impressive slurp and chucked it in the bin.

"Fine. I'll go to the carnival-" Tony grinned, "Only if I can wear the leather jacket." He groaned.

"But you'll look like gangster! I can't be seen hanging out with a gangster!" Loki dug his hands into the shopping bag Tony was holding and pulled out the jacket, slipping it over his green shirt with a smirk. Tony glared at him. "Fine. But you wear the skinny jeans too."

"No."

"Come on! They look good on you."

"I know, 'I have the right legs for them' so says that annoying girl in the store."

"And it shows off your ass." Loki gave him a sharp look. "So says the girl…as well." He awkwardly coughed into his hand. Loki rolled his eyes and grabbed the bag, walking off in the direction to the public toilets.

"Fine, I'll try on the ridiculous garment!" he called back. Tony grinned but pulled out his phone when he heard the Black Sabbath blaring through the speakers. Another call from Happy. _What was that, thirty five times now? Might as well answer before he calls the entire army on me_. "What's up Happy?"

"_Tony! Finally! You know I've been trying to call you all day_-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. What's wrong?"

"_What's wrong? The Charity Event! You just dropped the conversation with Earl and I heard your English friend attacked someone_!"

"Oh yeah, how's Rhodey doing?" Happy spluttered on the other end.

"_How's he doing? Give him a call and ask him, I dare you_." Tony fought the urge to yawn. He cared for Rhodey, yes, but he also was enjoying ignoring the world and just being with Loki. "_What have you even been doing these past few days_?"

_Taking the world's biggest villain to the city carnival, what of it?_

"Nothing, just working on my suits." He looked up as Loki returned and felt himself lower the phone as his eyes glazed over. Okay, the leather jacket did looked pretty good him. And the jeans looked awesome. And his hair looked a little better than other days. He cut off Happy's rants with a push of a button and shoved his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. "Okay Lo, you ready?"

"Again with that nickname?"

"What? It's cute."

"No, it's annoying."

"Well then I'll upgrade you to Lolo."

"NO."

"Come on Lolo," he grinned and grabbed his arm, leading him out of the shopping center.

"I will not be degraded to being called those ridiculous names!" he protested but gave in to being tugged either way.

"What was that, Bambi? I can't hear you over the crowd."

"Are you suggesting I walk funny?"

"Maybe." He heard a huff from behind him and chuckled, strolling out into the car park and walking over to the car. Unfortunately there were about fifteen reporters and paparazzi waiting for them, already flashing pictures and Tony made sure to let go of Loki's hand.

"Mr Stark!"

"Mr Stark! What is your relation involving the Earl Stanford agreement with your company?"

"What was the apparent incident that occurred yesterday?"

Tony pushed them back with annoyance and slipped into the car. Loki had much more trouble, getting pondered with questions about his and Tony's relationship but eventually fell into his chair with agitation woven into his brow. "Can I just make them explode already?" Tony shrugged, pulling the car into reverse.

"I can run them over." Sadly they moved out of the way before he could ram them to the ground and soon they were driving smoothly along the road. The trip took about seven minutes which was filled with Tony busting out the ACDC and Loki complaining, and soon they were neatly parked in an almost full car park, nabbing the last one.

"This is a disabled parking."

"Yep," Tony said, clicking the door open and taking a glance at the tip of the Farris Wheel peaking over the car park wall. He shielded his eyes and heard Loki get out behind him. "I can smell the candy corn already." He grinned and started on his way to the entrance. "_And I think to myself, what a wonderful wooorrldd…_"

"Tony!" Loki called after him before sighing and running to catch up. "Wait for me, I don't know how these things work," he mumbled, straightening his jacket.

"Well prepare for a lot of people. And little kids. And screaming teenagers."

"Screaming teenagers…" Loki massaged his temple. "You didn't think to mention these facts beforehand?"

"Do you think I'd get you to come with me if I did?" Loki elbowed his side.

"Insufferable mortal."

"Whiny god."

Loki glared, Tony grinned. Sometimes Loki wondered if their relationship was made up of those two single gestures.

They walked over to the entrance which was swarming with lines of people passing through the booths and buying tickets to get in. Most began to notice the great Tony Stark and were gaping and gasping. Tony looked to see Loki who was looking rather lost to the attention and couldn't stop thinking how adorable that wide-eyed little face was.

"Do you expect me to wait in those lines?" he asked.

"Just wait for it…"

Soon enough a young carnival worker walked out from a side booth. "T-Tony Stark!" the lanky teen gawked. "I-it's an honor, Sir," he took off his little flat hat in respect.

"Yeah, sure it is. Hey, I'm not that into lines that much, so could you maybe…" he made a face and nudged his head towards the crowds.

"O-oh yeah! Sure!" He led both of them through a tin door and left them alone at the price of an autograph.

"My, my, Mr Stark," Loki mumbled, glancing around. "You almost have everyone waiting on your hand and foot. Maybe I should've taken a few tips from you before I tried the whole enslavement endeavor."

"Oh please, I got plenty of people who want to kick my ass." Loki didn't answer. He was too busy looking around and Tony decided to join him in appreciating the view. The show grounds were littered with different stalls that sold cotton candy and BBQ ribs and cameral popcorn and all the other good stuff that made your mouth water just from getting a smell. Other stalls boasted games- clown heads, shooting ducks and the old 'get the ball in the basket', the walls adorned with prizes which led the people in like moths to light. And of course, as he looked towards the center, there was the giant Ferris Wheel, and as he looked around more he could see the tips of other rides and hear the gleeful screams echoing across the grounds.

"Man this takes me back." He smiled warmly and stuck his hands in his pockets. "My nanny took me to the carnival when I was five. It probably one of the best days of my childhood." He looked to see Loki still wide-eyed at everything. He chuckled and grabbed his hand, leading him through the crowds and brushing past different stalls. "You hungry, Lo? This place has the best food. I mean, it's probably had a hundred people spit on it and had flies all over it but it tastes good either way."

"This place is amazing," he said over the commotion of the crowd.

"Wait till you get a look at the rides." He stopped when they came to a clearing in front of the Farris Wheel, getting a good at everything. Tony could see the Big Dipper to the left along with The Claw, Rock and Roll, The Lightning Bolt and The Big Drop. "What do you want to do firs- hey, don't go running off!" Loki just laughed and continued on his way to the Big Dipper. Of course he'd chose the largest ride first. Tony rolled his eyes and ran after. "Do I need to get you a leash?" he yelled. Loki crashed to a stop at one of the lines. Tony almost ran him over.

"I want to go on this one." He demanded.

"Seriously? You see a roller-coaster and you're reduced to an eight year old?"

"Do we _have_ to wait in these lines?" Loki asked him, ignoring the past comment.

"Well, we have to pay first, or you're not going anywhere." His shoulders slumped and he followed Tony to the ticket booth. An elderly lady passed them two tickets in exchange for ten bucks with a smile and they nabbed a spot in the line, passing about five people and pushing themselves in. No-one questioned it. Perfect. "Okay," Tony turned to Loki when they were a ride away from getting on. "Now this things goes about two hundred mile per hour. And I'm not exaggerating, it literally is a bullet." Loki's eyes lit up at that. "So if you think you're going to throw up…just don't do it on me, okay? I like this t-shirt."

"You think my stomach can't handle this simple Midgardian toy?"

"That is probably the most underrated thing you can call a roller-coaster."

"It's a habit." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Like I hadn't noticed." A worker tapped him on the shoulder and called the next lot on. Loki pushed past him and slid into the very front seat. "You're kidding me. The front?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What? You're not afraid, are you?"

"Like hell I am." He leapt in next to him and had to explain what the worker was doing when he pushed the safety bars down. The god seemed to think the weak fell off and was mildly disappointed when Tony told him otherwise. Soon everything was ready and coaster began its descendant up the scaling hill. Loki frowned, looking around as they got higher.

"This isn't fast at all. What were you talking about?" Tony decided not to answer and enjoy the look on his face when they finally go to the top. Then the coaster stopped completely. "And now we've stopped. I seriously don't understand how-"

And that small little shriek that escaped from his mouth as the coaster raced into motion down the hill was probably the most satisfying moment in Tony's life. He could die happy now. Loki immediately grabbed onto the bars and crashed into Tony's side when they took a harsh left. Tony just laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder when the cart slowed down a little.

"Aww, are you scared of the little Midgardian toy?" he asked sweetly. Loki pushed him off and glared.

"I was caught of guar-" he didn't get to finished when the cart was racing forward again, surging around the track at an incredible speed.

"WOOOOO!" Tony grinned, raising his hands in the air. It wasn't as much of a thrill as flying around in his suit but it felt fresh to let something else choose where you're going to go for a change. Loki was still wide-eyed and tense and Tony grinned. "Ready for the loop?" he called to him.

"What?" he yelled back. Tony braced himself as the roller-coaster pulsed through the tight track. Loki of course had no time to prepare himself and let out a long string of Norse swear words and few Midgardian ones just to level it out. When that was over the coaster didn't slow down before it was twisting and turning again.

"How's the stomach?" Tony asked over the roar of the ride, just out of spite. Loki actually found the room between the bars to elbow him. Tony decided to stop the mocking- he did bring Loki here for him to loosen up. He reached over and tried prying his hands off the safety bar. Loki's eyes went wild.

"What are you doing?!"

"Just let go!"

"NO!"

"You're not going to fall!" Loki looked to him. "I promise, okay?" He didn't get time to answer when he crashed into his side, his grip on the bar slipping away. "Good!" Tony encouraged, still gripping his hand. "Now just relax!" He pressed his back into the seat and Tony thought he might disappear into it. Soon a series of dipping hills approached. "This is the best bit!"

The cart dipped suddenly and Tony let out a long laugh. Loki's breath hitched but at least he didn't look like the ride was going to murder him anymore. The cart raised and slowed down a tad and Tony caught the starting of a smile on the god's lips. The coaster dipped again and he definitely heard a laugh joining his and by the third dip Loki looked like he was truly enjoying himself. Sadly this was when the roller-coaster slowed to a stop and the ride was over.

"Again." Tony laughed, getting up out of his seat and Loki followed.

"There's plenty of rides to tryout, you know. I get to pick the next one though." The both walked in between the different rides and stalls after Tony had to help Loki steady his balance.

"What about that one?" Loki pointed to The Claw. "That looks like some sort of torture device." He then looked to Rock and Roll. "Or that one. That one looks fun. 'The Lightning Bolt'…that looks even faster than the coaster. I have to go on it." Tony chuckled. _Like an eight year old indeed_…

They ended up stopping at the Kamikaze when Loki insisted he go on it or he wasn't moving. Tony had responded with a few snarky remarks and a roll of his eyes and eventually a bought ticket. While Loki ran off after Tony said he would sit this one out he wandered over to some of the prize stalls. He came across one with a particular stuffed animal hanging from the shed beams. His eyes sparkled and when he saw that it was a shooting game he couldn't resist.

"One round," he said, passing over five bucks. After a little star-struck awe he was passed a rifle and got ready to shoot the little yellow tin ducks that were moving past.

"Now, there's a pattern that you gotta find," said the gruff man running the stall with a wipe of his nose. "What you gotta do is-"

**BANG**.

**BANG**.

**BANG**.

Three bulls eyes. _Pattern my ass_. The man stared at him wide-eyed. Tony smiled and passed the rifle back over politely before pointing to his desired prize. "That one." With shaky hands the man passed it over and with a grin Tony thanked him and walked back over to the Kamikaze. He watched for about three loops before it slowed to a stop and a giggling Loki stumbled towards him. Yet his smiling face dropped when he saw the large toy in Tony's hands. He held it out in front of him.

"It's for you!"

Loki glared.

"Is it your life's goal to stretch that pun until it breaks?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Loki snatched the Bambi plushy and shoved it under his arm.

"I'm hungry." Tony smirked, leading the way to the food stalls.

"I'm glad. Let me guess, you want chocolate."

"Yes."

"Well you're lucky you have the worlds' best most charismatic and attractive guide." He led them through the crowds of people and sobbing kids with ice cream stained faces to a pink striped stall. Two large fountains were rested on the counter tops, overflowing with melted chocolate, one light and one dark. There were plastic cups with skewered strawberries in them to drown them in it and then eat. Menus on chalk boards boasted chocolate blocks, ice cream, milkshakes and cakes. Tony saw Loki's eyes glazed over. He looked like he had just died and gone to heaven- or Valhalla, Tony hadn't had time to research more Norse facts.

Loki walked forward and reached for one of the strawberries. "Whoa, wait a minute Mr 'I Want Everything'." Tony pulled him back and looked to the little woman who was working there, complete with an apron and pink cap.

"Don't worry, they're free," she said invitingly.

"Lady, you are heaven sent." Loki replied in grabbing three skewers and dunking them into the pool of light chocolate and greedily eating them up. Tony laughed when he saw the chocolate smears all over his chin and lips. Loki frowned.

"What?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing, look great. You want anything or are you content in chocolate strawberries?" Loki's eyes widened.

"There's more to choose from?" The lady smiled and nodded.

"Sure, there's ice cream for two dollars a scoop and brownies for just one dollar, for starters." Loki grabbed Tony's arm.

"Stark. You can go on without me. I will be here for the remainder of the day." Tony rolled his eyes and pushed forward a twenty dollar note.

"Could I get a box of brownies?" She nodded and soon a pink striped box was passed over, already smelling rich with cocoa. Loki grabbed the box hungrily but frowned when Tony began laughing again. There was the Norse God of Mischief that almost enslaved New York, standing there with a Bambi plushy under his arm and a box of brownies in the other with chocolate splotched all over his face.

"What is it _now_?" Tony held his hand out and caught his breath.

"Nothing, nothing, just wait a second," he pulled out his phone and, before he could protest, snapped a picture. "Alright, all good."

"I want to go on another ride."

"You want, you want…" They both began wondering through the stalls once again. "Why don't you try out a game? You'd be great a Clown Heads. You have the right mid set, I think. Or something that involves throwing things. You know, a thought just came to me. Do you know how good you'd be on some TV shows? Like the ones that ask mind questions and that? Anyway, as I was saying-" he looked to see that Loki hadn't listened to him at all but was standing in front of the Clown Heads game, looking rather perplexed by the plastic heads that moved back and forth. Tony slid to a stop next to him. "You know it's actually considered rude on this planet to leave when someone's talking to you."

"What does this game inquire?"

"What- did you even listen to me just then?" Loki finally looked to him and gave an innocent hum of confusion. Tony sighed. "You put Ping-Pong balls into the clown's mouth and try to get them to land in the column with the highest score."

"Hm. I'd like to try." He took a step forward before Tony grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "What are yo-?" he didn't let him finish before he was wiping the chocolate off his mouth with a serviette that came with the brownies. Loki muffled out complaints and pushed him off, his face now clean.

"There, all better," Tony beamed. Loki looked like he was about to snarl a response when the man working at the Clown Heads stall cleared his throat.

"You gents up for a round?" he asked with a booming voice. Tony pulled out five bucks and handed it to him with a nod.

"Just for my friend. Lolo?" Loki was still looking slightly disorientated by the last ten seconds but slowly walked over.

"Hold my Bambi." He shoved the toy into Tony's arms. The man led him to one of the heads and a row of Ping-Pong balls were released for use. After a very thorough explaining which ended with Loki snapping '_I know how to play, fool'_, the game began. Tony stepped to stand beside him and watched as he got the first two balls in the 6 pointer column. _So far so good_.

"Why do people commit to these games again?" he asked, eyeing the clown carefully and planning his next move.

"For prizes." Loki stopped.

"You get to win a prize?"

"Why the hell do you think they're toys hanging all over the walls? To tease poor children?" He glanced up at the different array of plush animals and his eyes stopped at a pair of Hulk hands. He suddenly got a rather gleeful look in his eyes and continued the game. 6 points…6 points…6 points…

"Done!" he said, a little too proudly than he'd like to admit. The man's eyebrows raised when he got a look at the score.

"A perfect thirty! First one today, congratulations!" he gestured to the prizes. "And what will you chose as your prize, Sir?"

"That." Tony's eyes widened when the pair of Hulk hands were passed over.

"You're kidding." Loki just grinned, dangling them in front of his face. "Let me guess, you're going to burn them."

"Burn them? This is my prize, Tony Stark, I intend to wear them." Tony face palmed as they wandered along the dirt grounds.

"Wait till Bruce gets a load of this…"

"Now," Loki craned his head. "What to do next…"

"So you are enjoying yourself?" Tony asked, adjusting the Bambi toy under his arm and he wondered when he had become Loki's shopping bitch. Said god gave a betwixt shrug.

"It suffices in standard entertainment."

"Oh don't give me that shit, this is probably the best day you've had in centuries." He almost wished he hadn't said that because a phased out look suddenly overcame Loki's eyes and a twinge of angst as if he was remembering every single thing in his life he'd done wrong. Tony thought for a horrible moment that he'd ruined the lighthearted mood he'd worked so hard to coax him into but Loki shook out of it, the softly placed smile working its way back on his face.

"Yes, and who thought it'd be with the opprobrious Mr Stark?"

"I'm not sure if that was an insult." Loki smirked.

"I'm sure you can work it out."

They continued onwards, Loki convincing Tony to go on The Lightning Strike with him and eventually he did agree. The fastest ride in New York did not disappoint as Tony stumbled off before hurling perfectly good brownies into a bin. Loki mumbled something about '_puny weak mortal stomachs_' and '_I'd like to see you go on the Bifröst_', but Tony bluntly ignored it. He got the brilliant idea to introduce Loki to cotton candy and even though the look on his face when he felt the sugary fluffiness disappear on his tongue was gold, the eventual obsession with the stuff was not so much worth it. After a few more games and Tony buying an Avengers show bag ('_of course I'm vain, I'm Tony Stark'_), they both came to a crashing stop at the steps of the horse riding arena, watching the riders train for the jumping competition.

"Well," Tony said, biting into his candy apple. "That was fun." Loki searched around in the one of three bags to pull out the Avengers show bag. He began looking through it.

"I still can't believe you bought this," he mumbled. Tony chuckled, holding up the Hulk hands.

"And I still can't believe you won this." Loki rolled his eyes and pulled out a little action figure of Iron Man. He pushed in a button on the back, making its arms flex. "Now that's quality craftsmanship right there. Really shows off my vibe."

"It's pathetic. So, yes."

"Meanie."

"Child."

"_I'm_ the child? I've been following you around paying for your every desire since we got here."

"That doesn't make me a child, that makes you petty. Or, in the words of your culture, my bitch." Tony punched his side and decided to give his attention to his apple. _He doesn't deserve my attention. My apple does. Yes, perfect apple dipped in toffee. You won't be mean to me_. Sometimes he really did think he might be going insane. "Can we go on the roller-coaster again?" He tapped his chin.

"Hm…nah, I think we'll all it a day."

"Why, you getting tired?"

"Yes, actually. And I recall you admitting something similar before we even got here." Loki let out a dragging sigh and stretched his back.

"Fine. We'll go back, but I get the rest of the cotton candy and brownies."

"But we have _four bags full_ of both." Loki gave a mischievous smirk.

"Exactly."

**~O~**

Loki went straight to bed when they got home, even though it was only three PM. He groaned something about how the Midgardian delicacies had 'poisoned his stomach' and was blaming Tony for some ridiculous reason. Tony rolled his eyes and explained the basis of food comas and snapped something along the lines of '_you ate five bags of candy you dick head, what were you expecting?_'. Either way he was fast asleep before Tony even left the room. _Spoilt_.

He was leaning back in his chair in his work shop, staring at the blue screen that adorned a model of his latest iron man suit. "The whole 'connected to bracelet thing' was cool and all…but I need something more…"

"_Practical_?"

"Yeah…" he mumbled, reaching out and grabbing the design, transforming it into a 3D graphic model and giving it a twirl. "It's too chucky, as well."

"_May I remind you that the extra boosters did end up saving the city, Sir_."

"Yeah but I want one that I can move quicker in." He flicked the booster pack off the amour. "And so it reaches me even if I don't have bracelets on…" he stroked his chin for a second before snapping his fingers. "Codes."

"_Codes_?"

"Sensors that code the amour to me. If I inject some maybe in my skin or something…would that work?"

"_If you were careful not to disrupt any vital muscle tissue and try not to cut off your veins, Sir, then yes_."

"Sweet," he smiled in satisfaction, closing the screens down and twirling in his chair to face the Mark 7, all ready to be repaired from New York. He would've fixed it sooner, but there really wasn't anything going on in the city and he was pretty busy anyway. But now it was time to once again be reunited with his babies.

His phone ringed.

"Oh, give me a break." He clicked ACCEPT. "Happy, you really need to-"

"_Tony_?" He felt himself lurch forward and almost fall off his chair in shock.

"Pep! How's it going? How's…M…Mmmmm-"

"_Miami_?"

"Yes! You enjoying it?" He heard a small sigh and could see her blue eyes rolling.

"_Hardly. The noise is horrible and the air's dirty and there are several cases of people who seem to be in the dark ages of sexism, but what're you going to do, huh_?" she passed off her rant with a weak chuckle. "_Anyway, I was more calling to ask about you_." Tony's hands clenched.

"Me?" he tried not to sound as uneasy as he felt. He had been dragging Loki with him everywhere. _What if someone found out about him? What if his disguise failed and they hadn't noticed? What if Bruce told someone?_

"_Yes. Earl Stanford called me and just told me that he wants to help out the company. He mentioned you_." Tony felt the rope around his throat untie and he slumped.

"Ah yes, Earl. I may have worked my magic and helped out the industry a bit. Happy early birthday!" Pepper laughed.

"_Um, late birthday, it would be_." Tony grimaced.

"Right."

"_Anyway how did you do it? I thought last time you saw him you…made a bad impression_."

"I have magical abilities beyond your dreams, Pep. I had him eating out of my hands before he even knew what was happening."

"_I see a few days alone hasn't made you lose your big head_," Pepper mused.

"Come on, what were the chances of that happening?" Another sweet laugh.

"_Well, I have to go now, okay? Try not to burn the house down_." He smiled and nodded, sending his goodbyes and hanging up.

"_I _might not burn the house down," he mumbled, now looking through his folders and clicking pictures. "But one little chocolate obsessed god might." He flicked the picture of Loki with chocolate smeared on his face with the Bambi plushy onto one of the screens, chuckling. "I need to print that on a t-shirt…" he sat back and looked at the photo for a bit, tapping his chin. Little thoughts were huddling in his head and before he knew it he was asking, "JARVIS? Pull up a photo from the invasion. One of Loki. Actually, a video."

"_On it, Sir_."

'_Freedom'_

'_Freedom is life's great __**lie'**_

'_**I still need that**__,'_

'_You were made to be ruled'_

'_**Subjugation**__.'_

'_You will __**always**__ kneel.'_

Grin.

Manic laugh.

Lost glint in his eyes.

Tony exhaled, long and deep, cushioning his back. He looked at those videos and then back to the photo he took just hours ago. He swallowed. "Pause."

Scepter pointed, insane looking, lost, out of control, power hungry.

He didn't know which to believe. There was something very wrong going on. The Loki in the videos, the one he learnt to fear and hate, was someone that needed a shit load of therapy and had a psychosis from hell. Yet in a few days…how did he come to be that domesticated little god that he'd learned to live with?

"_Sir, Loki has just thrown up in your bathroom_." Tony blinked a few times.

"What?" He suddenly heard a knocking at the glass wall and twirled around to see Loki standing there. "What the hell- Ugh, JARVIS, let him in." Loki strolled into the work shop easily when allowed. "Where the fuck did you come from? I thought you were hurling in my bathroom." Loki winced, placing a hand on his stomach.

"Eating that last bag was, I admit, a poor choice. And I teleported. Magic," he said in a 'matter-of-factly' tone. "Also, considering that we're now out of chocolate, it would be wise to-" he stopped short when he saw the photos up on the screens. His eyes widened a bit at the one from the invasion, but they definitely softened when looking to the opposite. Either way his sight came to land on Tony who was giving him a judging look. A moment of long, unfriendly silence passed.

"You have something to tell me?" Tony asked.

A long pause.

Twitching fingers.

A small shiver.

And a swallow.

Tony thought he was better at masks than this.

"I don't know what you mean. Invasion, not invasion."

"Don't give me that," Tony said. Loki was expecting his voice to come out harsh and demanding, but it was almost the complete opposite. They stared each other off. "We both know there was someone- or some_thing_- that was there inside you that day that isn't inside you now." Loki gritted his teeth.

"Fear changes people."

"Fear from what?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Stark."

"Uh, yeah you do." Tony stood from the chair but held his ground. "Because a good few hundred people died that day. I think that deserves an explanation." Loki looked away, that look of fake control on his face.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Trying to. I would understand a lot more if you'd just tell me." Green eyes snapped to meet his.

"I mean you wouldn't understand because not even _I_ did at the time. It's dark, _dark_ magic, Stark."

"And the source of it?" he was walking towards him now and he hated the way Loki tensed up. He shook his head.

"I can't."

"Can't what?" His face was whiter than usual and his jaw was twitching. His eyes were- _wait…shining? I haven't even picked at anything yet and he's already on the brink of tears_?

"I _can't_."

"Can't. What?" he was close enough to see the tremble shaking his limbs. "Loki, please. If there's something out there that's after you then I want to know about it."

"What would be the point when you couldn't even defend yourself against him?"

"Him? It's a person?" Loki's eyes went wild and when he instinctually went to flee the room Tony grabbed his arms. "Loki, tell me, who is it?"

"You know too much already!"

"What's after you?" he urged. Loki pulled his arms easily away but Tony grabbed on again.

"Let me go, Stark!"

"Not until you tell me what the hell is making you react this way!"

"Why do you _care_?!"

"Because if something is coming after you then it's my fucking concern!" Loki slipped out of his grasp once again but Tony kept persisting. "What was controlling you during the invasion?!"

"NOTHING!" Loki ripped his arms off him and faced him fully. "Nothing was controlling me during the invasion! Nothing is controlling me now, nothing is coming after me and NOTHING IS GOING TO RIP ME TO PIECES WHEN HE FINDS ME!"

Silence.

Tony stood there with wide eyes, watching as Loki's breathing hitched and the shine in his eyes became tears. Loki covered his face with his hands, shoulders hunching inwards and slowly he sunk to the floor, becoming a ball. Tony was speechless. He just watched the god break down in front of him before he snapped to his senses and crouched down next to him.

"Um…" how could he even have _words_ for this? The only time he'd seen Loki shed a tear was during a Disney movie. This was an entire other deal. "Uh…" _What did Pepper do in these situations? Leave him be, I guess…_

_Fuck that, I'm going Tony style_.

He wrapped his arms around the caved in god, pulling him into a hug. "If something's after you, then he'll have me to go through. And you don't know what I'm like when I'm _really_ pissed off. I don't care if he's got dark magic mumbo jumbo, I'll kick his ass." Loki stiffened at the contact and the wreaked sobs stilled when he spoke. Slowly and fractionally, like frames in a movie played in slow motion, he softened into the caress. They stayed there for a few minutes before Loki spoke.

"Let's hope your actions speak louder than your words." His voice was cracked and raw. Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, me to." He then thought about the fact that he had just kinda promised to kick this 'someone's' ass for Loki who apparently had really, really dark scary magic and was creepy enough to make Loki completely break down and become a ball. He swallowed. "Wait, this guy isn't coming soon, is he?" he may have felt Loki pressed deeper into the hug, but it could've been his imagination.

"I had to escape prison to run from him. It will be harder for him to find me here."

"Good, good, all good…" he took a deep breath and looked down to Loki who was now fully pressed against his shoulder comfortably. "You gonna be okay?" Loki didn't answer at first, instead reaching forward towards Tony's Arc Reactor. He frowned and tugged the top of his shirt down. "Who cowboy. Usually people take me out to dinner first, but-"

"This," Loki said, his voice wasn't as watery as before but was soft and worn out. He tapped a finger on the glowing blue metal, making Tony flinch. "It didn't let my scepter consume it before…"

"That's because it's my Arc Reactor."

"A what?"

"Arc Reactor. And that's all the info you're getting off me."

"I believe a substantial amount of secrecy had been dusted up on my behalf, now it's your turn." Tony inclined his head to the right, thinking a bit.

"Okay, I'll tell you the story if you clear up some myths." Loki sighed, shuffling until he was sitting in Tony's lap and closed his eyes. Tony's eyebrow raised. "Um-"

"Just ask."

"Okaaaaaaay…Sleipnir? The eight legged horse?"

"Is my fa- uhhh…" when he stuttered on the word he took a deep breath, obviously juggling on what to say.

"Just say Odin, if it's easier." He snuggled a little into his skin, still running a finger over the surface of the Reactor.

"Odin rides Sleipnir. He is the fastest steed in all the Nine Realms and the strongest."

"You must be very proud."

"I should be, I trained him." He sighed. "People began rumors because I distracted a builder by transforming myself into a mare and leading away his horse. Considering Sleipnir was born not long after and grew rather attached to me…" he trailed off. Tony smiled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Eh, everybody talks. People actually do crazy stuff like that here, you know." Loki turned his head upwards to frown at him.

"Giving birth to horses?" he said.

"No, more like having sex with dogs…one guy tried it with an elephant, I think…oh! Another one with a pie! They made a movie out of that…" Loki was giving him the most freaked out look so Tony decided to stop there. He cleared his throat. "_Anyway_, continuing onwards, what about that one where you and Thor dress up in drag to get his hammer back?"

"Lie."

"Getting your mouth sewn shut?"

"It was threatening to me, but lie."

"Getting dragged through the Realms holding onto a spear you jabbed a giant hawk with?" Loki gave him dubious look that screamed '_really_?'. Tony solved his own question with a nod. "Okay, lie." He didn't really have any more myths to ask so he let them both fall into silence for a bit. After about five minutes, he took a breath.

The entire story of the Arc Rector took about fifteen minutes to fully explain, including answering some questions that might have arisen. Not that Loki asked them. No, he remained silent throughout the entire speech until Tony thought he might've fallen asleep and had to check to avoid utter embarrassment. After he was done Loki nodded softly, but didn't move. When Tony smugly said there was no way in hell he was going to carry Loki to bed the god blinked and they were suddenly sitting on the soft covers. After a bit of 'what fucks' and 'that shit's too trippy for this hour' they both snuggled down into the covered, Loki never leaving Tony's side.

* * *

**"Getting Dragged Through the Realms Holding onto a Spear'- www. sacred -texts neu/ice /coo/ coo04 .htm (no spaces, you know the drill. It's actually a very gripping story)**


	8. Last One Laughing

**STUPID FROSTIRON FEELS MAKING EVERY STUPID SONG REMIND ME OF STUPID FROSTIRON**

**Enjoy this chap :)**

**Loki bes glorious drama llama**

* * *

**8) ****Last One Laughing**

Loki has never felt so much like a useless maiden in all his life. Stark was holding his hair back (or rather pretending he was and trying not to look like he was there simply because he felt some surge of responsibility for him considering their past conversation) and Loki was hurling into the porcelain toilet bowel. He had woken rather suddenly at an un-godly hour in the night, drenched in sweat and with the urge to empty his stomach. He would say it was the effects of his heat, but Loki knew the taste of fear. Why did he have to bring Thanos up with Stark? How could he be so selfish to accept his help when the war titan could bring his death with a flex of a finger-?

Oh wait, he was still puking.

"Yikes, next you'll be regurgitating your stomach," he heard Stark murmur from standing hunched over next to him. Loki coughed and gasped in a breath, spitting out the taste of sugar and cocoa before resting his head on the rim. Tony kneeled down, giving his back a comforting rub. "You okay?" He only had the energy to weakly shake his head into a pathetic '_no'_. "Is it the hormones or something? Or is it…"

Another weak move of the head, '_yes_.'

"Okay…" Another rub of the back, a gesture Loki was afraid of becoming used to, or worse, accustomed to. "Are you done?" Loki's lips formed a thin line and he nodded properly, lifting up off the bowel and almost making it to his feet before slumping forward. "Whoa, okay, let me help you." He felt two arms pull him to his feet and he was led over to the basin. "You might want to brush your teeth. You can use my brush- I know it's like indirect kissing, but to hell with cooties."

Loki settled for splashing his face with cold water for a few minutes, regaining his strength before taking the toothbrush being held in front of him and scrubbing the disgusting taste out of his mouth. After that he lumbered back over to the bed, Tony holding him upright when he began to tilt. "Are you okay?"

"Mmm," he nodded feebly, "better…" He collapsed on the bed and closed his eyes, the heaviness of sleep taking him under after he felt the weight of Stark's body come to rest next to him.

**~O~**

It really shouldn't have taken Tony this long to realize he hadn't had a drink in almost three days. For a 'normal' person, that's pretty normal in all normally normal normality, but for Tony Stark, Mr 'You Can't Wake Up Without A Nice Cup Of Straight Vodka', that's pretty fucking impressive.

He teased his fingers on top of the glass scotch jug, biting his lip. He wasn't craving it. It was more of a nagging in his head saying he _should_ be craving it. But he wasn't. And he felt proud. A kind of proudness he'd never felt that much in his life. So he left the drink be and walked into the kitchen to get a coffee instead.

"JARVIS, Loki still sleeping?"

"_Yes, Sir. Considering it's almost midday, would you like me to subtly wake him_?"

"I think we both know what your view of subtlety is, buddy." Tony scooped up his coffee mug and gathered warmth from it.

"_I learn from the best, Sir_." Tony smirked into his mug.

"Cheeky. Anything on today?"

"_Your social schedule includes some written over-views from SHIELD which I'm sure you won't bother with, but other than that nothing_." The man stopped.

"So…I have the whole day to myself?"

"_If Loki remains sleeping, yes_." Tony fist-pumped and strolled over to the fridge, opening it.

"Loki ate all the spare chocolate, son of a bitch." He grabbed a pop tart instead and chucked it in the microwave. Sometimes he really thought his kidneys were going to take some junk food one day and just be like '_nope'_ and he'll finally die from…well, being him. He shrugged those thoughts off which definitely didn't end in his mind yelling '_YOLO_' and waited patiently until his brunch was ready.

"_Sir, Loki has finally risen_."

"'Bout time," he mumbled, biting into his pop tart.

"_Uh.. there may be a problem_." JARVIS rarely stuttered. He was his oracle and if _he_ wasn't sure about things then Tony thought he might die. He drained his coffee and walked into the living room. "_He's walking quite wobbly_."

"Yeah," he waved him off, "he had a tummy ache last night-"

"_And he's in his Jotun form_."

"Wait WHAT?" Tony's eyes bugged and he suddenly felt two cool arms slide around his torso. He jumped, trying to turn to see the face that was already rubbing against his cheek. "Where the hell did you- oh right, teleportation, _fuck_." He held his pop tart out of the way as Loki grappled him, purring in his ear. "JARVIS, _please_, facts first."

"_Well I did tell you there was a problem_." Tony held his hands out in defeat.

"You know, there are too many sassy attitudes in his house. You're supposed to be my sanity."

"_Apologizes, Sir. Would you prefer me to be more responsible_?"

"Yes."

"_Calling Miss Potts_-"

"Okay, okay, not _that_ responsible. I've made it through this before, I can do it again." He craned his head to look at Loki, who pressed his nose against his. "But let me guess- we're out of chloroform?"

"_Yes Sir_."

"Great…" he sighed and decided to at least finish his pop tart, which is quite awkward when a god is rubbing himself all over you. Just when he took the last mouthful, he felt a sharp nip at his shoulder. "OW!" he spasmed, whacking Loki away. His wide eyes met his blue face, obviously oblivious to what he had done wrong. "Did you just _bite_ me?" He seemed to understand what he was pointing out and a smile played at his lips whilst the purring got louder. Tony rubbed his eyes for a second before holding a confronting finger out. "NO. Bad Loki. No biting, okay?" The arms returned to wrap around him and he rolled his eyes and sighed. At least he was nice and cool.

"_If you don't mind me interrupting, The Voice is now on_." Tony flicked his head to the TV.

"Shit." He glanced to Loki. "Um…" he tried wiggling out of his grasp but to no avail. "Aw come on! It's the last blind audition! It's the best part!" he whined. Loki held him even tighter. _Fine. This will probably make things a thousand time worse, but…it's my favorite TV show_. He pulled and arm free and began scratching Loki's scalp. The grip on him loosened immediately as Loki leaned into the touch, his eyes closing and the purring getting so loud Tony winced. "Good, good…" he walked over to the couch whilst still petting Loki, finally falling back onto the pillows and getting comfy. He snatched up the remote and turned the TV on.

Loki stood there, slightly saddened a the loss of touch, but the purring continued when he crawled onto the couch, walking on all fours until he was hovering over Tony. Said man looked up to him with an awkward expression. "…can I help you…?" Loki dipped his head down to dig his forehead into Tony's hand and gave him an expecting expression. He rolled his eyes. "Fine. You are so spoilt, you know that?" he said as he resumed scratching his head. Loki purred gleefully and collapsed on top of him, rubbing his head along his neck. Tony twisted his head to the screen, one arm holding the remote while the other petted Loki. "Yeah, yeah, I know I'm loveable."

**BITE**.

"OW FUCK!" he glared at the smirking face. "Are you sure your mind's not conscious? Cos that was definitely personal."

Purrs.

He rolled his eyes and continued watching the TV show. His eyes glazed past the screen and focused on his palm reactor, sitting pleasantly on the coffee table. His eyes widened hopefully and he tried reaching forward, but was stuck underneath Loki's weight. "Come…on…" he grunted, trying to wiggle closer. After about five minutes of useless squirming he slumped on the pillows, exhausted. He decided to give up and watch the show.

_What was going on? Oh right this chick…eh, she's pretty good…last one was better…whoa wait this is like the best song…mmm I gotta illegally download this sometime…awww they didn't turn around for her...well maybe she-_

**RIIIIIP**.

Call him a whore, but Tony knew the sound of tearing clothes when he heard it. He jerked his head to see Loki _ripping his shirt off with his teeth_. He didn't know whether his initial reaction was to be freaked out or impressed. "Whoa! No, no, no, no, bad. BAD LOKI." He flicked him on the nose which caused a small snarl. The tear in his favorite Black Sabbath shirt went from the collar to halfway down the entire thing. Loki's red eyes gave him a look that seemed to say '_you're the one who lead me on_' and to that Tony says yeah, he kinda did. _Oh fuck it, the shirt's basically ruined now_.

"You know what, fine. Just fine." He threw his hands up in the air and tried not to wince when he heard the ripping of threads again. He gasped out when Loki nuzzled against his chest. "Holy shit you're cold!" he shivered. He groaned when he felt a nudging at his hand. He grudgingly resumed scratching his head again, trying to watch the rest of his show.

…

…

Three hours. It had been _three hours_ and Loki still hadn't stopped. Tony was temporarily trapped on the couch with his shirt in shreds and several bite marks on his neck and chest. So far he had watched The Voice, and encore of The Voice, Star Trek Voyager and hell, he actually sat through an episode of Dr Phil. If it were any other session, Loki would usually fall asleep after about an hour or less. It had never gone this long before and Tony was starting to think Loki might soon not be content with just cuddling. Biting and ripped clothing were some clues. And the fact that he was scratching Tony's back- not that Tony was complaining about that part.

"JARVIS? Can you call Bruce? Just put him on the house speaker."

"_Calling Doctor Bruce Banner_." Tony muted the TV when he heard the three dial tones and then someone pick up.

"_Tony! How's it going with Loki? I was just going to call you, actually_-"

"Bruce, I need you to come over right now."

A pause.

"_What's going on_?"

"Loki is- OW! I told you no biting! Jesus! Loki's going through a session and it won't stop. He's biting and scratching and it's not very good for my posture to be on this couch all day."

"_Okay, wait. How long has it been going on for_?"

"Three hours at least." Bruce let out an astonished breath.

"_Wow…okay, I'll try and be there as soon as I can_." Tony nodded.

"Soon is good." Bruce hung up and Tony sighed, looking to Loki who was still brushing his cheek along his shoulder. The nails scratching his back suddenly dug into his skin and Tony yelled out. "WHAT IS WITH YOU AND RIPPING MY SKIN?"

'Soon' ended up being another hour of biting and purring. Tony knew he could never look at a cat the same way again. He twisted his head around to the sound of the front door opening and a pair of feet padding on the floor. "Finally! I was starting to think that-" he froze up when heard _another_ pair of feet. His eyes widened. _Oh shit. What if it's Fury? What if SHIELD's found out about Loki? What if they take him away?_ He looked up as the two entered to see Bruce and…

Clint.

His eyes widened. The archer looked as casual as ever, dressed in a grey shirt and slacks. He took one look at the state of Tony and Loki and the billionaire prepared for questions, cursing or a punch to the face. Anything, really, besides…

Laughter.

He frowned as Barton held his stomach, his face going red from laughing so hard. "Oh my god! When you said he was…I didn't actually think he'd be…but…" more laughter burned in Tony's ears. Loki looked up, slightly tensing.

"Bruce, what the fuck is Clint doing here?" Tony snapped. Bruce gave a face of guilt and stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, Tony, but-"

"You're sorry? What's going to happen now? He's gonna blab to Fury and- you know what, let's just pass Loki in right now."

"Sounds good," Clint said, trying to be serious but was still recovering from his laughter and was wearing a smirk.

"Clint's promised he won't tell anyone." Tony frowned at the agent.

"_Why_? And aren't you supposed to be in Africa or something?"

"Tasha can handle herself- the case was over anyway." Clint shrugged, stepping closer to the couch.

"I was working in the SHIELD Head Quarters when he confronted me about where you had been and who you'd been running around with and-"

"Wait, who I've been running around with? How long have you been back? Have you been stalking me?"

"After Loki 'supposedly' went off with Thor, Fury asked me to keep an eye on you to make sure you hadn't been compromised. Considering I found tracings of the power bracelets from your house and you running around with your new boyfriend all of a sudden…it didn't really take a genius." His explanation was said without much enthusiasm. He instead was more interested in Loki, inclining his head to the side. "Whoa, so this is what he really looks like?" Loki eyed him intensely, freezing up and moving closer to almost shield Tony. "There's an entire race that looks like that? Wow. I didn't know he could look even more like a freak, but I stand corrected."

"Hey, he's not a 'freak'," Tony glared. He looked to Bruce. "Does he have to stay here?"

"He wanted to see it for himself," he shrugged.

"And it didn't disappoint," Clint grinned. "Is he cold? Bruce only said he was from the Realm of snow men or something." He reached forward which only caused Loki to upturn his lip and growl viciously at him. Clint jerked back with a cocky laugh.

"Stop patronizing him, Clint." Loki backed off but was still glaring. "I told him about the situation and made him promise not to tell Fury because we have this under control."

"Oh, yeah, looks like you have everything completely thought-through," Clint smirked.

"You are pissing me off a little more than usual, birdy. Bruce, I called you to talk to you only." Bruce nodded, walking over and having no reaction when Loki leveled his red eyes onto him.

"Well, I think we should take a step back, firstly, before Loki eventually attacks." Clint took one step back and Bruce gave him a tiring look. "How did the sessions end before, Tony?"

"He would fall asleep or I had to knock him out."

"I volunteer knocking him out."

"You really don't like him, don't you?" Tony twisted his head to look at Clint.

"Um, he kind of messed with my mind, so no, I'm not inviting him for a sleepover any time soon. Unlike you, apparently." He gave him a judging look. "So what is _exactly_ going on with you and him? He snuggles a bit and suddenly you make him your lap dog?"

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that this is the guy who almost enslaved the city!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, have you been stuck with him for days?"

"I had been, yeah."

Bruce's eyes flinched nervously as Loki was becoming distressed that Clint was making Tony upset, his body tensing and a small snarl sounding.

"You weren't the only one including Loki who was mentally traumatized, you know."

"What?"

"Loki was a victim too!"

"You're kidding me. He's already turned your brain to mush for him to play with."

"No, I am being serious! You didn't see him last night, he was completely breaking down-"

"The _God of Lies_, you absolute _dick head_," Clint said slowly as if Tony was a mere toddler.

And then Loki pounced.

Clint yelped as he was smashed into the wall. Loki growled in his face with bared teeth and Tony felt a little special that he would beat someone up simply because he was pissing him off. But sadly Clint was an important member of the Avengers and SHIELD so he leapt off the couch and tried pulling Loki back. "Loki! No, down! Bad!" Loki reluctantly stepped back and stopped growling and Clint gasped in a breath, staggering forward.

"That…is why…you can't trust him…" he gasped.

"Clint, that was a simple instinctual reaction from you antagonizing him," Bruce gave him a glare that almost matched Loki's. Clint swallowed, rubbing his neck and for once remained silent.

"Well, now that that's over." Tony reached down, swiped up the palm reactor and, without warning, fired at Loki. Bruce yelled out and leapt to the side and Tony winced when Loki went smashing into the wall with a sickening crunch.

"Holy shit!" Barton took a good five steps away, pulling out his gun. Loki groaned, laying on the crumbled wall with an arched back. Slowly his blue skin faded into pink and he slumped on the rubble.

"Sorry about that," Tony mumbled, chucking the reactor on the couch. Bruce and Clint were wide eyed, staring at him.

"Well…that was….drastic, but it seemed to do the trick." Bruce scratched his head.

"Maybe a little warning next time, big shot?" Clint murmured.

"You can put the gun away now," Tony said. He shook his head, his eyes fixated on Loki who was now moving.

"Nah-uh." Tony walked up to the god, biting his lip. Loki groaned, lifting an arm pathetically and rubbing his head.

"Are you okay, Lo?"

"Lo? Are you kidding me?"

"Clint…"

"He's already given him puppy names for god's sake."

Loki blinked his eyes open and Tony kneeled down beside him. He frowned and sat up, immediately wincing and clenching his shoulder. "What happened?" he said sharply.

"I had to shoot you. Sorry." Loki was about to reply when he saw Bruce and Clint standing in the room. His eyes focused on the gun pointed at him. He didn't seem that overly surprised at the new company, instead quirking an eyebrow.

"And what are you planning to do with that, agent Barton?" Clint gritted his teeth.

"I was thinking of killing you with it."

"Because that worked so well before."

"Hey," Tony snapped, "If you two could stop your little bitch fight, I'd like to fill Loki in on the shit he just caused." Loki was still starring Clint off when Tony helped him to his feet. He dusted off his shirt and strained his back, grimacing.

"I'm pretty sure I can judge the situation," Loki said, sitting down on the couch with a relieved sigh as he cushioned his back. He looked to the palm reactor sitting next to him. "Did I have another session?" he asked, eyes never leaving the weapon.

"Yeah," Tony nodded.

"I understand why Banner's here but why is Barton here as well?"

"Have some respect," Clint glared, putting the gun back in its holder but still keeping a thumb on the strap. "I'm the only one keeping Fury from locking you up in his new cage." Bruce walked over to the back of the couch, sliding on his glasses and checking to see if Loki's shoulder wasn't burned. After a small flinch, Loki let him.

"When's Thor coming back? You said a few days. And if that's what I have to go through every time you turn blue then one of us is going to be dead in a week." Loki eyes looked to Tony and scanned down his chest, frowning at the bite marks. He pointed to them.

"Was that…?"

"You? Yeah." Tony thought he saw a small look of guilt and horror in Loki's face. Loki shook out of it, attending to his first question.

"Thor should be back today."

"Great," Tony said without much vest. He turned to Clint. "Now what the hell are we going to do about you, huh?"

"What're you mean?" he frowned.

"Oh, so we're just supposed to believe that you're going to keep this secret under wraps? We all know you've wanted revenge on Loki ever since New York."

"A lot of people want revenge on Loki, Stark. But locking him up isn't really goin to do anything, so I don't see the point. Especially when I can pay him out as much as I want right here."

"Splendid," Loki dead panned.

"Besides," Clint shrugged, "When Thor comes around and takes you back there's no doubt I'm gonna rat Tony out."

"Thanks, Clint. Makes me warm and fuzzy inside." Bruce nodded, flipping his glasses off and walking back around the couch.

"Okay, so Loki's fine. I'm sorry Tony, but there's really nothing I can do. Just…try to keep him in a semi-cool environment and call me when Thor gets here." He glanced to Barton. "I'll keep an eye on Clint."

Tony and Loki watched as Bruce got into the car at the front of the house. Bruce had given Tony some basic cooling cream for the bite marks and he had got a shirt on to make things less awkward. "So do you call Tony pet names in return? Like Fi-Fi, Honey Cheeks…" Clint mused as Loki twitched. "You look like a Pumpkin, or maybe a Baby-Cakes. I've heard Tony gets creative."

"You know," Loki sighed, "I really don't know why you're so wound up about me mind-controlling you." He looked sharply to the man. "You're basically a puppet for SHIELD anyway, aren't you?"

"Hey," Tony snapped, pushing the two apart. "Stop. When this is over then you can take it out on each other with explosions and arrows and magical snakes- if you have those."

"You would know…." Clint mumbled. Tony punched his arm and Barton gave Loki another narrow of his eyes before walking over to his car and getting in. Bruce nodded to them from inside and they both sped off, leaving Tony and Loki to stand there.

"…"

"…"

"…Pudding?"

"Definitely."

**~O~**

Loki shoved a spoonful of chocolate pudding into his mouth, lounging on the couch that he forced Tony into bringing down (even though he could've easily done it by himself with his magic) and watched the mechanic tinker away at his suits. "You better not be picking up anything while I'm doing this," Tony murmured, sparks randomly spitting at him now and then. "It's a risk bringing you down here in the first place."

"Are you afraid I'll cheat, Stark?" Loki smirked, licking the remainders of chocolaty goodness off the spoon.

"Terrified." He worked for a few more minutes in silence, trying to patch up the central work on the armor's chest. Loki had finished his pudding and was now staring at him, watching him work a little too intensely for comfort. He sighed, whacking off his goggles and walking over to his desk. "Yeah, I can't work with people looking at me. Dum-E? Could you pass my spare laptop?"

Rolling out from the darkness of the corner of the room came Dum-E, carrying a laptop in its single robotic palm. Loki jumped when it whirred past him, eyes wide. "What in the Nine Realms is _that_?"

"Dum-E," Tony said, snatching the laptop up. "My little robot helper."

"A robot? Like your suit?"

"More like JARVIS."

"_I'd prefer to not be insulted, Sir_."

"Hey, don't be mean." Loki frowned at Dum-E and the robot clicked and whirred in response. "Isn't he adorable? I made him sound like R2D2. From Star Wars. He's a bit stupid though, but he's there when I need him, at least."

"It is…different," Loki murmured.

"Butterfingers is charging, I'll introduce you two later." Tony walked over to him and handed him the laptop. "Enjoy." Loki raised an eyebrow, gingerly taking the technology.

"Enjoy what?"

"The internet. Easiest way to learn our language and how to interact with other people. Even though all you'll probably find on there is comment fights and idiots." Loki opened the computer up, eyes shining at the light from the screen. Tony tapped in the password and decided to leave him to his own discoveries. Loki snorted.

"Your password is 'iron man is better than you'?"

"How the hell did you- whatever, I had to change it anyway." He returned to his work, mumbling something about '_stupid gods_'with their'_stupid intellect_' whilst doing so. After a few minutes of Loki humming thoughtfully, wincing and making freaked out faces, he spoke up.

"72 days." Tony frowned, lifting his goggles up.

"What?"

"72 days. That's not even a marriage, if you ask me." He snorted, grabbing a wench off Dum-E.

"You looking up the old Fairy Tale wedding of Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend who's name escapes me?"

"Fairy Tale?" Loki made a face. "Hardly. Why do mortals treat marriage so poorly? On Asgard its fall in love before swapping rings."

"Life's short," Tony shrugged. "Falling in love is something that takes a long time to learn. And when your life expectancy is seventy to eighty odd years, you tend to rush into things…" Loki tapped at the keys a few more times and continued searching. After a minute he made a noise that was not of this universe. Tony frowned when he quickly pushed the laptop away, his eyes wide. "What?" he walked over to him. "What's going on? What did you-Oh god…"

Trust the God of Mischief to find the erotic fan art.

"Okay," he quickly exited the tab and turned to him, "now that you've learned your lesson, never, EVER, go on Tumblr. Golden rule. There is freaky shit on that site that even makes _me_ blush." Loki still looked slightly traumatized, but nodded. "Come to think of it, I haven't checked up on my blog in a while…" he hummed in thought, returning to his suit.

For about two hours Loki had become slightly hooked to the wonders of the internet and Tony had to pause his work to explain the likes of SpongeBob, Adventure Time, Woman's Weekly, Facebook (_what fun_), Twitter ('_no, it's not a bird site'_) and You Tube. Of course he spent most of the time watching cat videos. Tony wasn't judging, I mean, who didn't want to sit and watch cats not give a shit about life? He only stopped when he lifted his head up as if he'd heard something. Tony was just about done with his work anyway, wiping his hands on a cloth.

"What's up?" he asked. Loki didn't look to him, slowly closing the laptop.

"…Thor's back." With that he leapt off the couch and ran out the lab, disappearing up the stairs.

"Hey! Wait up!" he called after, chucking his goggles on the bench and running after. When he reached the living room his face was met with the shining of the sun, getting gradually lower in the sky. Loki was sliding out the glass doors onto the balcony. He couldn't see Thor anywhere. _Maybe Loki has a little built in radar that tells him when his bro is near. That's kinda cute, actually_. He strolled over to the doors and pushed them open, walking out into the crisp cool air. Loki was standing at the railings. It was only then Tony saw the two crows perched upon the wiring.

Loki seemed just as lost as him, standing stale. "Not Thor?" Tony asked. Loki didn't answer, only reaching forward and taking an envelope- _**oh**__, they were messaging birds_. He brushed his hands over it, eyes hesitant. He stroked one crow on the crest of shiny black feathers adorning its breast. The crow nuzzled his finger, the other cawing for attention.

"Huginn and Muninn…." he said softly, his voice almost getting taken away by the wind. "Odin's crows…" Tony stood there, waiting for him to say something that made sense.

"In replace of Thor?" he tried asking, only to be met with silence. Loki un-clipped the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment, lines of writing scratched on with ink. He dropped the paper casing artlessly, letting it get whipped away in the wind and began reading. Tony's brow cringed when Loki's hands tightened and his whole body became still. _What the hell was going on? Is the letter information on Jotuns? Let me read it, god dammit!_

After a few minutes of the crows pecking out bugs in their feathers and Loki not making a sound, the god swallowed thickly and raised his head, not looking anywhere in particular. A few seconds ticked by. "…Stark." His voice came out hard and sharp, it had the same persuading effect on him if he had held a knife to his throat. He waited for an explanation eagerly. "I need you to leave the house."

Well.

That was…unexpected.

He frowned, stepping forward. "What? Why? What does the letter say?"

"I need you to leave the house right now."

The way he sounded so…calm, so profound…Tony knew some shit had gone down in that letter.

"Just tell me why and-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE, NOW!" he exploded, turning to him with fire in his eyes. Tony reeled back, shocked. They stood there for a while, staring at each other. _What the hell? Oh, so he needs me when he wants food, he needs me when he wants to make fun of something, but when he genially needs someone…? Oh no, l just become invisible. He'll just pretend he's the only person in the world again and forget what I have to put up with. Great. Just great_.

Tony looked away. He shrugged, shaking his head.

"Fine. Just fine. I'll leave," he gestured. "I'll get out of your way. Alone is what you're good at, right? Alone is what you want? Here you go." He slammed the balcony door closed and snatched up his jacket hanging over one of the chairs, charging to the front door.

He hoped that whatever was in that letter was bad news, because he was getting sick and tired of this drama on what Loki didn't want and what he did.

(He pretended he wasn't sick and tired it wasn't him.)


	9. Comfort Food

**9) Comfort Food**

To hell with pride. To hell with life, to hell with work and to hell with that little record Tony had been keeping in his head.

Because he downed that scotch in three seconds flat.

It seems no matter how long he went without a drink, he never forgot the sensation of the sizzling burn that slid down his throat. He breathed thickly and motioned the bar tender for another round. He was in a standard pub, one that had people looking shocked that Tony Stark walked through the doors, but it was just what he needed. No attention, no people he knew and no expectations for himself. Yes, this was nice.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr Stark on duty as always."

Okay, less nice.

Nick Fury walked up and decided to sit down next to him, not even bothering to ask whether he was the person Tony least wanted to see at that moment. "Are you always wearing that trench coat? Do you have a closet that's just full of rows of them or something?" Fury didn't answer, just watching as Tony sulkily downed another scotch. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Aren't you supposed to file in those SHIELD reports?" Tony shrugged. "I am at work, actually."

"What work would you have in a pub?"

"Classified," Fury said, ordering a vodka for himself. Tony snorted, balancing the glass on the edge of the rim. "And what makes you come here to simply sulk?"

"Nothin'…"

"I'm going to guess. Relationship problems."

"You don't know the half of it." Okay, discussing his issues with Nick Fury wasn't probably the best thing to do right now. Not to mention it was creeping him out a little.

"JARVIS decide to walk out?"

"Why me?" Tony buried his face. "Why don't you go and ask Captain Spandex his little problem that everyone he loves is dead?"

"Mr Rodgers has done what I suggested at the start," Fury said, taking a sip of his drink. Tony looked to him with a frown.

"Oh god. He took _your_ advice? Damn." Fury gave him a pointed look.

"He's seeing the world, Stark. Last time I heard he was living it up in Australia." Tony snorted.

"What's the point of going to Australia when he can't get drunk?" Fury didn't answer, finishing off his drink. Tony sighed, pushing his glass away and getting out of his seat. "Speaking of getting drunk." He grabbed his jacket and hauled it over his back.

"SHIELD reports," Fury called after him as he walked out the pub.

**~O~**

When Rhodey opened the door to see Tony standing awkwardly in front of him, he expected nothing more than a disappointed look and that's exactly what he got. Rhodey's left cheek adorned a large band aid and Tony cringed at the memory. The Coronel straightened up and looked at his watch. "You got thirty seconds."

"Okay, I'm sorry that what happened to was caused by my friend, but he's not really….well, he's not really my friend because I've been keeping a secret from you and I am so tired of keeping it bottled up because I feel like everyone is after me and right now that 'friend' has kicked me out of my own home so I really need a place to stay for the night." He finished with a deep breath.

Rhodey stared for a few seconds. Tony mentally face palmed. Now that he had mentioned his secret he was going to have to spill it. It would feel awesome to get it out there, yes, but Rhodey was a difficult man to judge reactions on. He could freak out and call the entire army after Loki or simply shrug and say it was Tony's problem.

Either way Rhodey stepped to the side and let him enter and Tony just wanted to kiss him. "_Thank you_," Tony said genially.

After a few rules had been placed including not getting drunk in his house (_dammit_) and that it was going to be just one night because he had training tomorrow, Tony agreed and they were right now sitting on the couch eating pizza watching The Voice (after much persuading).

"I don't know how you can watch this show." Rhodey mumbled, chomping into his pizza slice.

"How can you not?" Tony asked. "It's the best." His friend just rolled his eyes and muted the TV as the ads came on.

"So, I've let you slip past it for a whole episode now," Rhodey said, shuffling so he was facing him, "Who kicked you out exactly?" Tony gritted his teeth, chucking the pizza crust onto the box.

"Um…." He scratched his head. "It's kind of difficult…"

"You've said that five times now, Tony." A small pause. "It's the same guy who attacked me, right?" Tony nodded.

"Except it's not…quite…he's not what you think- _it's_ not what you think-" he sighed deeply. _Now or never. Just let it out. One…two…three…_

He looked to Rhodey and swallowed. "I'm…" _god, why was this so hard?_ "I'm kind of…" _he doesn't have a clue. Look at him, just waiting for me to finish. God, I can't! He's gonna freak!_ "Loki's staying at my house." _There. That's enough information to- ohhhh no. He looks kinda angry. Or is that shock? Aggressive shock? Yep._

Rhodey stared at him in aggressive shock for a few seconds before blinking slowly. He lifted a hand up. "Loki."

A nod.

"The Loki that almost destroyed the city."

Another nod and- _oh god he's going to blow_…

"…Thor's brother?"

"Yes. The God of Mischief Loki. And this afternoon he threw a hissy fit and kicked me out of my house." He bit his lip when he slumped against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. After a while he pressed his palms into his eyes with a groan.

"Tony…Tony, Tony…"

"Present."

"You always seem to get yourself in the deepest shit on earth…" Tony grimaced.

"Yeeeahhhh…"

"You have Loki in your house."

"Yeeeahhhh…" Rhodey suddenly straightened up and grabbed his shoulders.

"Are you compromised?"

"Um, technically if I was I wouldn't exactly tell you-"

"Just answer the question, Tony!"

"No! No, I'm not compromised."

"Are you hurt? Has he hurt you?" _Aww, he cares for my protection. I knew I liked you Rhodey._

"I'm probably not that good mentally, but no. Well, I have these bite marks, but-" he got a widen of the eyes for that.

"_What_? He's _bit_ you?"

"Only because he's in heat," Tony reasoned. Now Rhodey was looking at him like he was insane.

"_What_?"

"Bruce, Thor and I all found Loki walking around the streets in his Jotun form- a blue thingy- and Bruce discovered that he was in heat. He imprinted on me- so I'm basically his mate- and Loki ended up stranded in my house without SHIELD knowing and I'm all alone with him, which worked out great for the first couple of days but recently his heat session have become more violent and he's also a massive drama queen." Wow, he was getting good at these rants.

Rhodey took it all in like a sponge, shaking his head from time to time. "Wait, wait, wait…you're…you're Loki's _mate_? What? I don't get how this all works."

"Science, you know, wibbly wobbly timey whimey," Tony gestured carelessly. Rhodey looked him in the eyes.

"Tony, I don't understand half of what you just said, but you need to report Loki into SHIELD right now."

"I can't! We've gone through all this trouble to-"

"Tony, you need to listen to me. Loki is not a friend, he's dangerous."

"He's not if you get to know him!"

"You're not listening to me. You need to call Fury and-"

"I've developed feelings for him, Rhodey!" _Wow. That came out more whiney than expected_. At least that seemed to shut Rhodey up, because he leaned away from him as if he had suddenly harnessed a deadly virus. Tony sighed, rubbing his temple. "It crazy, I know, but he's my friend. And I can't do that do him. I knew that you'd probably say something like that, but I actually was hoping that you'd just accept it. It's stupid, I'm sorry, but I can't do anything like that to Loki." He looked to him with a hopeful glint. Rhodey stared for a good minute before sighing.

"And how do you know he thinks the same about you? He could be playing you, Tony. I don't want you to finally die from stupid decisions."

"If I could die from any stupid decision then I would be happy it was this one."

Rhodey breathed through his nose deeply. He was looking at him with concern now. "Are you completely sure?"

"Absolutely," he nodded. Rhodey twisted on the couch so he was facing the now ending TV program.

"Kicked you out of your own house," he echoed, shaking his head. Tony smirked. "And you have Thor and Bruce on your side? Do you have a backup plan if this all goes sour which I'm pretty certain will?" Tony fidgeted.

"Um, Bruce is on my side but as far as backup plans go…" Rhodey groaned and wiped a hand over his face. But Tony knew Rhodes was on his side, no matter how reluctant.

**~O~**

In the morning Tony was eventually kicked out at ten. He didn't really want to go back to the mansion and face the situation. He was Tony Stark and he sits and rocks back and forth in the corner or sleeps all day and was proud of that. In the end Rhodey almost dragged him to the front door and closed it in his face with another warning to be safe.

The drive back to the house was tedious. He decided to take the long way. And stop for coffee. After almost stopping for a burrito JARVIS may have slipped how pathetic he was looking so Tony decided to man up. And that's how he came to be walking towards the front doors of his house.

He sighed and pushed through, taking three steps before stopping as a crunch sounded under his foot. He glanced down to see a broken light bulb, shattered. He frowned and looked around the small hall. Pictures were ripped, lamps were smashed and as he walked into the living room it only got worse. His couches were torn and the pillows were shredded. The curtains were ripped from their hinges and the coffee table was tipped over. Everything was strewn everywhere and Tony only found it in him to stare at it all.

"_Welcome home, Sir_."

Fuck you, JARVIS.

He flinched when he heard a small groan. Lightly, hoping not to destroy anything more than it already was, he walked over to see Loki laying in the corner of the room. His eyes were dead, staring at nothing and his skin was a sickly bleach white and had a sweaty gleam. "Shit." He ran over to him and knelt down. "Shit, shit, shit, shit." When he reached forward Loki impossibly had the energy to whack his hand away.

"Don't…" he wheezed.

"Don't? Loki, look at you! I'm so sorry I left you, I forgot you ended up like this." He reached forward again and this time Loki snapped his eyes to him, gritting his teeth.

"Let me die, Stark."

Shock.

Tony stared at him in complete, utter shock. Loki battered his arm away and slumped again, closing his eyes. "…What?" he whispered. When he didn't get an answer he scowled. "Fuck no. You are not dying anytime soon." He clamped a hand on Loki's cheek and the god hissed, trying to bat him away.

"Don't, Stark!" he yelled, his skin slowly getting its colour back.

"We do through all this and you want to fucking die?" Tony yelled back, holding his shoulders down. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

"I don't want to live anymore! Let me die!" he was becoming helpless now, his eyes tearing up.

"I'm not letting you do anything until you get your head together!" He was almost fully healed now, his strength picking up. He threw Tony off him and sat up, glaring. He glanced down to himself and gave a helpless cry.

"Look what you've done!" he screamed. Tony's eyes were wild. He was still processing what the hell was going on. "I was almost happy and you ruined it!" he grabbed a lamp and threw it at him to which he dodged by a hair. Tony stared as Loki buried his head in his knees, giving up on…everything, it seemed. He breathed heavily, pulling himself onto his feet.

"You…" he didn't even have the words. He stood there for a moment before his eyes fell upon the letter that made Loki want to kill himself. Could he read it? He reached down and gently picked it up. Out of all the things in this house he was surprised the letter was the thing that stayed intact. He opened it and, with another glance to a stale Loki, began reading.

_Brother._

Oh god. This can't be good.

_I have run into trouble on Asgard. Though I have found the information on Jotuns that we need, the Council has also come to an agreement on your punishment. I did try to reason with them, I swear on my life, but it could not be reversed. You are, from this day, exiled from Asgard until you die. _

(_Loki was completely still_)

_I cannot visit_ _you as I am needed here and I am seen as a possible threat to bring you home. Your magic has been cut off from the World Tree so it is guaranteed you can't return._

(_Loki's hands were trembling_)

_Mother has sent her deepest love and farther fought for a different punishment but the people of Asgard have spoken. I am sorry._

(_Teeth gritted, trembling, crumbled paper_)

_For the information on Jotuns, you are a lot smaller than others so your heat is almost five hundred years too late. I believe this is the reason behind your_ _symptoms. I couldn't find any information when it might end as those scrolls were written in ancient Jotun runes._

_This is goodbye, Loki._

_I'm so sorry._

Tony stared at the letter. How could he do anything else? Now he knew why he wanted him to leave. He didn't want him hurt as he lost his shit. Tony wished he hadn't reacted the way he did because the last thing Loki needed was to feel even more unwanted.

Loki was cast out. Even more so than before. He looked down to the broken god who was still caved in on himself. He wouldn't see Thor again. He wouldn't see his parents again and he couldn't return home. In short…

Loki had nothing. Nothing accept a pulse, and he wants that gone anyway.

Tony dropped the letter and stared at the floor. He couldn't have a suicidal Loki. He wasn't going to let him die anytime soon. But how could he make him feel…wanted? He was just a man and Loki was a god who'd seen the wonders of the universe and different Realms and if that couldn't keep him from even second guessing then what could he do?

He clenched his fists and walked out the room, into the kitchen.

**~O~**

Loki felt better and he hated it.

_Useless…so useless…my entire existence is useless…what a pathetic god, not even allowed to live with his own kind. The kind be pretends to be. Just pretending…that's all you've ever done, pretend you're wanted, pretended you're loved, pretended you're king_.

He wanted to laugh at himself and then cut off the grin. But he stayed slumped against the wall because he'd probably fail at that too. Twice now he had failed at even killing himself. Why did life torture him like this? Couldn't anyone see that he was so fed up of everything? Couldn't even Stark see that he _needed_ to go? The man had probably worked himself stupid trying to put up with him.

He blinked at another loud curse sounded from the kitchen. He didn't even bother to think what Stark had been doing in there for the past hour now. He thinks it had been an hour. He may have fallen asleep. Not that he took notice. If he couldn't die then he decided he'd just have to pretend to be dead. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A ringing bang came from the kitchen and Loki had to keep himself from opening his eyes or worse, trying to stand up so he could check on what was going on. Not that his opinion mattered.

How pathetic he was.

Eyes remained closed. _Maybe I'll go give Thanos a visit. At least then I'll be used for something, a punching bag for the Chitauri. Was this what I was born for? Was I supposed to always fail_?

Oh wait, someone was in front of him. And what smelt like burnt meat?

He slowly lifted his head up to see Stark standing there with a large bowel in one hand. "Okay," he said, sitting down and placing the meal in front of him. Loki hesitantly sat up and stared at the bowel where a few slightly singed pieces of meat were swimming in some sort of stock. "I did some research on Norse stuff and apparently you guys have your own comfort food. I did try to make a chocolate cheese cake but…um, it _was_ going well, but we had like, no eggs, so I had to improvise. So yeah, it's a lamb mutton. JARVIS had to help me with the…everything and it got a little burnt but," he shrugged, "I think it turned out okay."

Loki was staring at him with some sort of emotion he couldn't identify. Some sort of shock, needing, and disgust at himself because _what in my life have I done to deserve this_? It was just a meal (and a rather poorly cooked one), yes, but Stark made it for _him_ to make him feel better and _why why why_?

Tony stared back at him and nudged the plate forward. "Do you like mutton?" Loki still didn't think to even speak, his lips failing him. "…Do you like lamb?" He didn't mentally curse at the burning in his eyes and he didn't curse himself for being soft when he shuffled forward and hugged Tony like he'd never hugged anyone in his life. Because he was _tired_. He was so tired of pretending, he was tired of being alone and he was tired of _wanting_ to be alone. Because he needed someone right now and he was so glad it was Stark.

"Oh god. Is it that bad? You're crying." Loki almost had to remind himself how to genially laugh. He slid back and looked to the mutton. Suddenly it looked like the best meal he'd ever seen. He wiped his eyes and Tony smiled fondly. "Are you okay now?" He wasn't, but he nodded anyway.

"Yeah," he croaked, levelling his breathing. Tony pulled out a fork.

"No more of this 'I want to die' business, okay? I know shit hits the fan. Trust me. But…I _do_ care about you, you know. I don't know what happened to you in the past that makes it so hard for you to believe that, but…" he pushed the mutton forward. "This is my…mutton feelings. I have made it to show you that I give a damn if you're half dead in my living room." Tears were building up again but Loki wiped them away and took the fork, taking a mouthful of lamb. Tony was staring intensely, waiting for a critique. He swallowed.

"It's a little burnt."

"Eh," Tony waved it off. "It is _my_ mutton feelings, so it's going to have something wrong with it." Loki smiled and took another bite. After a few more mouthfuls he placed the fork down and nodded.

"It's good," he complimented. He looked to Stark and tried a small smile. "Thank you, Tony." Tony smiled back and stood.

"You look tired. And I need to…somehow clean everything up." Loki grimaced and looked around the destroyed room.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Tony reached down and helped him to his feet.

"Never mind. You should've seen my birthday party when my and Rhodey had a massive fight. Oh, Rhodey knows you're here, by the way." Loki stopped short.

"…What?"

"I visited Rhodey and he now knows our little secret. No biggie, I'm sure he forgives you for the scratching thing." Loki still looked slightly dainty from the news so Tony lead him up to the bedroom himself. Loki slumped on the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. He was asleep within seconds and Tony definitely didn't sneak his Bambi plushie under his arm for comfort.

Everything felt exhausting. Loki was emotionally exhausted, Tony was exhausted from just about everything and even JARVIS was exhausted because no-one seemed to have any common sense and those two were complete children. While Loki was having his nap Tony put the left over mutton in the fridge and called a group of cleaning people to…well, clean. He explained the state of the house on a malfunctioning suit and they seemed to buy it so he sat back and watched them do their stuff. Then it was time for shopping because everything was pretty much destroyed (which he got someone to do as well).

Five missed calls from Happy later everything seemed spick and span and Tony ordered pizza. _Extra-large. Make that two. Put on any meat you can find_. He was sitting on the couch not watching anything in particular when Loki seemingly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing a piece of pizza and sitting next to him after shoving the Bambi plushie in his face. Tony grinned.

"How was your sleep, Bambi?"

"That toy is Bambi, _I_ am Loki."

"Good," Tony nodded. "You sound like yourself." Loki raised an eyebrow and bit into the pizza, humming in thought at the taste. Tony muted the TV as the ads flicked past. They both sighed.

"I think…the thing I'm going to miss most is…" Tony glanced to him, surprised he wanted to talk about his home after finding out he was exiled from it. He guessed it was for the better, to go through the mourning process. "Having a place that was mine," he said softly. "I never really fit in. But it was still mine." Another bite of pizza.

"What exactly happened to you?" Tony asked. Loki paused and swallowed thickly.

"…Jotuns aren't liked among the Asgardians." Tony frowned.

"So you grew up with people not…liking you?"

"No," he sighed, stretching his back. "I grew up thinking I was Asgardian. Until…when Thor first fell to Midgard…I found out I wasn't quite that."

"Ouch," Tony winced. Loki nodded, eyes down cast. "Well, if it means anything, I think your Jotun form is awesome." Loki looked shocked at that, lifting his head with wide eyes.

"What?"

"When you go blue," Tony explained. "I think it looks pretty."

"…_pretty_?" Loki repeated. "You think that Frost Giants are…_pretty_?"

"I haven't seen other Frost Giants but you're pretty. I mean, the Frost Giant part. Not that you're not pretty as well, but I mean, like, the Jotun side is more-"

"Tony. Stop talking."

"Done." They continued eating but Loki couldn't keep the smile off his face. Tony tilted his head to the side and reached out, tugging on his hair. Loki frowned as he ate. "You need a haircut…" he mumbled. Loki nudged his arm off with a disagreeing pout.

"No."

"I know this really good hair parlour, actually."

"My hair doesn't need anything done to it."

"But I think getting out might be good for you right now." He paused eating and looked to Tony. "Come on. We've been cooped up in here for a while. Makes you sick."

"And being around lots of people won't?" But Tony had already turned the TV off and leapt to his feet. Loki groaned, rolling his head back. "I don't want to move."

"Because you're stuck in a pool of misery," Tony said, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. "We'll get some fresh air."

"I prefer fresh air when someone isn't hacking at my head."

"Don't worry, we're not all Vikings. People here have class, you know."

"Hm, my discoveries on the internet say otherwise." Tony smirked, obviously not giving in and when Loki realized he groaned once more as he was pulled out the front door.

The sky was churning from blue to greys and little splotches of pink dabbed here and there. The clouds blocked out most of the sun and the air was still ('_get some fresh air, hm_?')('_shut up'_). The car trip wasn't that long and was filled with Loki staring out the window with an off-beat look about him. Tony shrugged it off- he _did_ almost die this afternoon. He decided not to stir a conversation. After a few minutes of silence they pulled up to the shopping district and Tony dragged Loki through the giant centre before pulling up to a hair salon.

"One problem, genius," Loki said, crossing his arms. "How are they going to cut my hair when they can't see it?" Tony didn't catch on, frowning. Loki rolled his eyes and looked at his reflection in the store windows.

"Oh _shit_," Tony cursed. Loki just smirked. "Okay, drop the disguise."

"What? Are you insane?"

"It's not like everyone got a close look at you! Come on, drop it." Loki was still looking at him like he was mentally deranged.

"No, Stark. There's bound to be someone who spots me."

"When you get your hair chopped off then no-one will take a second glance!" he reasoned which only caused a cynical look. Tony's shoulders dropped. "Fine. Wait here." He dashed off and Loki sighed, leaning against the salon window. He must admit, it did feel good to get out and not sit around thinking about what happened. He was still shaky and he's sure he'll pay for bottling up his emotions later, but he was enjoying being with Tony. He blinked when the billionaire was suddenly back, holding something in front of him.

A giant chocolate heart, pleasantly wrapped in red tinted plastic.

Loki felt his mouth water and he quickly went to grab it but Tony pulled back. "Hair first." Loki stared at him. He smirked, crossing his arms.

"Do you really think that you can bribe me with chocolate?" Tony looked at the heart and back to his cocky expression. He shrugged and began pulling the wrapping off.

"Fine then, I'll eat it in front of you-"

"Oh, fine!" Tony grinned when Loki slid around the corner which led to the bathrooms for a few seconds and reappeared. He leaned in close to his face in a threatening matter. "If I get caught then it's your fault." Tony just waved the chocolate in front of him and Loki huffed, walking into the salon. After a cheesy greeting from a girl who wore too much make up Loki was led to a swirling chair in front of a mirror. Tony had a little trouble politely asking the girl to stop talking to him but eventually joined him there. A sleek black haired woman approached, tying an apron around her back.

"Hey," she smiled and Tony smiled back. Loki grunted. He flinched when she scooped up his hair in her hands and smoothed it on the back of the chair. "Wow, you have really long hair," she said, impressed.

"And I want to keep it that way." Loki tried complaining but was met with Tony twirling the chocolate in front of him and he gritted his teeth. The woman seemed slightly unfocused at the display, her cheeks flaring up and her eyes getting a sparkle from an overfill of cuteness. She cleared her throat.

"So do you just want a trim?"

"Big trim," Tony said. Loki pouted when she nodded and pulled out a pair of scissors and began snipping at the black locks. After about ten minutes of trimming Tony had cooked up a splendid conversation with the hair dresser and when Loki finally stopped freaking out because someone was handling his hair and cutting it and '_I liked my hair the way it was_' he actually became relaxed and when Tony checked after the twenty minute mark Loki was almost asleep.

"Daww," he cooed. The woman chuckled and began finishing off the last layer of hair.

"So you two…" she began, pausing to push her own hair out of her face. "Do you…I mean, are you…?"

"Uh, no," Tony said with a gesture. "I'm just looking after him." She looked doubtful, but nodded. After another ten minutes Tony tapped Loki awake but covered his eyes. Loki muffled out a complaint, trying to push him off. "Don't, you'll ruin the effect!"

"What effect?"

"And the grand reveal…" he slipped his hands away and Loki squinted at the mirror. His hair now ended at the nip of his neck and didn't spike out as much. It also somehow looked slightly greaser. His eyebrows raised and he lightly stroked a couple of strands. The dresser bit her thumb.

"Did I do alright?" she asked. Loki looked impressed before his expression flattened and his smoothed his hair into place.

"I still think there was no need," he muttered, getting up from the seat. Tony rolled his eyes and thanked her, walking over to the counter and paying before walking out with Loki. The god turned to him, holding out his hand. "Chocolate." Tony smirked, passing it over.

"You did well Lolo. And you look sexy." Loki gave him a warning glare and tore the chocolate heart out of its wrapper.

"So can we go now?"

"Yep."

They walked out to the car and Tony drove out onto the road. Loki nibbled away at his chocolate and Tony got an idea as he saw the sun setting. Loki frowned when he found themselves parked at the foot of the Malibu beach. A few people were swimming, mostly little children as the sea was silent and calm. Tony stretched his arms behind his head and breathed deeply, kicking his feet up onto the dash board. The sky was painted with pinks and oranges and reds, on display for everyone.

"Stark…" Loki said slowly.

"Hm?"

"We're at the beach."

"Mm-mm."

He looked to him. "Why are we at the beach?"

"To watch the sunset." Came the simple answer. Loki was going to protest, but decided against it. There was no point arguing that man's ways. He sighed and bit into his heart, relaxing. _Going to the hair dressers with a mortal. What an outcome my life had_. But he frowned when he recounted what Tony had done so far.

_Chocolate hearts…hair dressers…watching the sunset in his car_…

The idea was so insane but so obvious. He jolted from the near shock of it all, facing Tony with a bewildered expression. "Was this a _date_?" he asked. Tony seemed just as shocked, fumbling until he was sitting upright.

"_What_?"

"Was this a date?"

"What- no! No, are you insane?"

"I don't know, I did try to kill myself this afternoon!" Tony scowled at that.

"Don't talk that way."

"Then answer the question," he said, holding up the half-eaten heart. "Was. This. A. Date?" Tony faltered, leaning back. Loki could see the reel of events passing through his eyes as he thought. Loki started to feel stupid. Every outing they had could be counted as a date. _Carnival…movie nights…god he made me __**mutton**__, how could I have not seen this_?

"I don't…know," he spluttered. "Do you…want it to be a date?" he frowned at his own words. Loki was taken back.

"Well…" he squirmed in his chair, awkwardness taking over. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Loki cleared his throat. "Just another trip to the shops." Tony seemed to snap out of the stoic daze he was in, nodding quickly.

"Yep, definitely."

They sighed, looking as the last of the sun disappeared, off to bring somewhere else the light of a new day. When the sky was engulfed in darkness Tony didn't move. "…Tony?"

"Mmm?" he mumbled.

"…The sunset's over." He blinked.

"Oh, yeah, right." He pulled the car out onto the road and headed for home.

As soon as they walked in Tony put the left over pizza in the oven and they both headed up to the bedroom, Tony picking up the Bambi plushie on the way. They didn't talk to each other as they slid into the welcoming covers and turned the lights off. Tony rolled over a few times before eventually falling asleep. The whole world was quiet yet Loki's mind was reeling.

_EXILEHOMEHOME NOTneverhomeNEVERRETURNneverreturnTONYTONYTONYchoc olateheartsheartsunwarm_

He blinked. It wasn't…a session, he doesn't think. All his emotions were stirring up in the pit of his stomach in an overflowing mess. He suddenly felt cold and alone. In reality, who did he have left in his life?

_Not Thor…not mother…Bruce has better things to do…_

_Stark_.

Stark was all he had left. And he was scared. _Tony is a mortal man. When he dies what will happen to me? Alone. For good. Alone for the rest of my life_. He shuddered at the thought. He'd been the loneliest person in the Nine Realms before and he wasn't looking forward to doing it again. He looked up to the lump that was Stark's body and he shuffled closer, nuzzling his head into the crook of his neck. _I don't want to be alone, I don't want to be alone_…

Loki pressed himself closer. Tony wouldn't leave him. Not to be alone by himself. Because if he did…he wasn't sure what he'd do.


	10. We Must Be On A First Name Basis

**So much explaining to do omg**

**Well, first of all I deleted the previous chapter 10 because I wasn't happy with the plot development. I'm not an action writer, I've discovered. I shall stick to my quirky scenarios and humour. Hopefully you'll survive with that.**

**Secondly, I'm so sorry this took so long but I had major writers block and so basically I spent two weeks procrastinating.**

**And then my laptop broke so I had to get it fixed and now I owe the store 250 buckaroos. Dang flabbit.**

**And thirdly HOLY SHIT GUYS! SO MANY REVIEWS! I don't know what to do with myself! You are all so awesome and amazing for actually staying with this story, urhg, perfect human beings.**

**PLEASE READ THIS (****if you want I mean free country but I would be happy if you did****):**

**One of my best childhood friends is extremely suicidal right now. Her user name is Miss Sachiko and I would deeply appreciate it if you sent her a few notes of support to keep her going. Thank you.**

**10) We Must Be On A First Name Basis**

It was one of those times where Tony just decided to lay back and decide how he got to this point in his life. Was it really only a _couple of days_ for him and Loki to go from wanting to kill each other to snuggling in bed? He should get a damn pat on the back for taming the God of Mischief in record time. You know, if Loki hadn't actually been acting the whole time and plunged a knife into him before he could say 'hey Fury guess what'.

Strange thoughts stirred the mind at four AM. Tony blinked a couple of times just to make sure that his eyes were in fact open. His toes wiggled in the cold air and it was a full minute of empty searching before he realized that Loki had stolen most of the blanket- and most of his chest. The god was sprawled out on top of him, arms flung lazily across his body and head rested on his chest, with his body stretched as far as possible to scrape the edge of the mattress. For someone so concerned on posture he sure was a down-right bed hogger.

For a few considerate moments Tony thought that sleep would be nurturing enough to slide him back into the world of dreaming, but he found himself stranded in the land of awake. Plus, now that he was actually aware of it, Loki was uncomfortable. And heavy. The worst part was that he couldn't find it in him to move in case he woke him up. _Geeze, is this what it's like for those cat owners_?

He decided to stare blankly at the ceiling. Loki needed a good sleep. No bad wake-ups, no distractions…just him and his mind. _What does someone like that dream about, anyway? Does he think about all the bad things? An alternate universe were he's happy_? Tony looked to Loki's face, half buried in his shirt. _Does he even dream at all? Casted a spell or something so he doesn't have to deal with the nightmares_? He wouldn't be surprised if the latter was the case. Especially since yesterday didn't bring the best news.

Tony looked to the bed side dresser, then back at Loki. With tense dauntlessness he wiggled his arm from underneath Loki's body, heart pounding viciously when the god strained his back before slumping again. Exhaling deeply he guided his hand over to the draw and tugged it open, feeling around blindly before finally whipping out Thor's letter. "JARVIS, lights," he whispered. He smiled when a soft aura illuminated the room, making the blotchy words visible. Tony cleared his throat and straightened the piece of parchment, eyes scanning over the words that made Loki want to kill himself yesterday.

He made sure that the cleaners didn't get rid of it. He wouldn't dare. This letter was the only thing that Loki had left of his home, of his own _brother_, and if perhaps Tony isn't enough for him one day then it might bring comfort to him. One day he might actually believe that Thor loved him. _Loves_ him.

_You are, from this day, exiled from Asgard until you die._

A lump formed in his throat. He didn't know what he was expecting. Maybe for the words to magically change to say that Loki was evicted of his crimes and make everyone happy again. If Loki ever had been happy before.

'_Oh don't give me that shit, this is probably the best day you've had in centuries_.'

He still can't get over that disconcerted look that over-came his face, like a bubble had formed around him- no, like a wall had hit him, and he became effortlessly still. He looked down to the impassive face of the god, completely at ease. He sighed, hastily looking back to the letter. As his eyes skimmed over the words he felt his arm snake over to the inky locks of hair, softly teasing a few strands until he found himself in a repeating cycle of dragging his fingers across his scalp.

This was nice.

Just being…here.

_Your magic has been cut off from the World Tree so it is guaranteed you can't return. _

The moment of perfection was ruined by reality. Tony's mind started reeling again and he blinked form the break in clarity. _World Tree_. That pops up quite a lot in the Norse world. But what did it mean to be cut off? That you're suddenly excluded from the universe? He still had his magic, didn't he?

He thought it best to think about all of this in the morning. He slipped the letter back into its keep-safe and supressed a yawn, glancing quickly to Loki who was staring right back at him and-

He jolted violently, his hand that was previously grooming his hair quickly dashing back. "Jesus Christ!" he gasped, wiping a hand over his face. "Unexpected panic…" Loki's eyes didn't back down but a tiny glimpse of a smile played on his lips. Tony was surprised that he was still perfectly content on lounging on a good portion of his body. What ever happened to hurt pride? "How long have you been awake, exactly…?" Tony murmured after his heart had stopped racing.

"Long enough," Loki enquired, voice gravely from the early hours of morning. He nudged his head towards the draw. "What were you doing with my letter?"

Tony froze up, adjusting his head on the two pillows holding it up causing a horrible strain in his neck. "I was just…" He suddenly felt rather intruding. He cleared his throat. "The World Tree…" he started, "uh, it says that your magic is cut off from it. What does that mean, exactly? I know the World Tree itself is basically the universe, but…" his words awkwardly trailed off. Loki's half-lidded gaze didn't portray annoyance, just weariness and perhaps…fondness?

He _must_ be exhausted.

Loki breathed deeply once, resting his eyes for a few seconds. "All magic users from the Nine Realms have a connection to the World Tree. Energy and power flow through the branches and a user of magic can draw the energy from the Realm's surface and use it to their will." He was half asleep yet his words were perfectly chosen and sorted and spoken with sharp diction. Tony wondered whether it was just a habit or a way of being. Loki paused long enough for Tony to translate the silence into emotion, a sense of regret or maybe affliction. "Because my magic has been cut off, it's not as powerful as it could be. And I can no long pass into other Realms. I can't return home." He rested his eyes again, swallowing. "Which is obviously the Allfather's intention."

Tony rested his head back. "Your father's a bag of dicks."

"_Adoptive_ father," Loki venomously corrected. He snuggled his head into his shirt more. "Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it…"

Tony officially put 'Loki slurring' as one of the top three most adorable things on earth. He smiled, tugging the blanket over his shoulder more even though it resulted in his other foot being exposed to the open air and brushed some hair out of his face. JARVIS automatically shut the lights off and Tony snuggled down properly on the pillows. After a while he was squirming again.

"God you're heavy," he wheezed. He really did wonder how cat people did it.

**~O~**

Days usually blurred for immortal gods, but never like this.

Thor stood on the balcony that sprouted from his chambers, eyes cast across the delicate structures of brilliance sparkling in the orange colours of dusk to see the Rainbow Bridge, pulsing with translucent colour until it reached the newly built Bifröst . With such ease could he charge past authority, past responsibility and plummet down to Midgard, back to his brother who was in desperate need.

So _easily_.

But Thor wouldn't. Loki wasn't the innocent prince he once knew. Loki was a criminal. A traitor. A monster. At least, that's what he'd been constantly told these past few days. The words still singed in his mind and tasted heavy on his tongue. It seemed all he could do was hope that Loki's heat would be over soon and that Tony had enough sense to care for him properly.

Thor found himself shaking his head. 'Tony' and 'sense' in the same sentence was practically unheard of. What if Tony made things worse? What if he didn't treat Loki right? What if he accidentally fed him Rakfisk? Loki had always hated seafood. Thor scrunched his nose up. What if he took _advantage_ of the situation_? Advantage of Loki?_

"I thought I'd find you here."

Thor flinched, turning and standing in a defensive formation. Queen Frigga stood at the doors of the balcony, her silk dress gleaming with silver radiance. Her eyes were sad. Her eyes had been sad ever since Thor returned from his banishing. He never saw her cry but he can see the silhouette of tears on her face.

Thor hadn't told her about Loki's condition.

He loosened as much as his shoulders allowed him. "Mother," he addressed. Frigga's lips tilted upwards, though Thor wouldn't call it a smile. She glided across the glazed stone to stand next to him. Her chin tilted up to the Bifröst .

"It's quite amazing," she breathed. Thor slowly turned to join her line of sight.

"Yes, it is, how quickly it can be rebuilt." He cleared his throat, pretending to be interested in the topic. "We should celebrate the fine craftsmanship of the-"

"No, Thor," Frigga said with a sense of loving. She lifted her head and Thor could see the distance in her eyes. She was looking beyond the Bifröst . "I'm talking about the universe. It's quite an amazing thing, so, _so_ vast. I'm not even sure what's out there, what might be waiting for the one who would venture so far."

Then Thor saw it. Saw the mask come down. She was a woman of water now. Her eyes were watery, her voice and even her posture, her hands intertwining as if trying to grab hold of something not quite there. "So, _so_ vast…and so _lonely_…"

"Mother…"

Frigga turned to her son, tears spilling down her cheeks. Thor had never seen so much pain in one's face before.

Well, once before.

'_No, Loki.'_

"I want my baby back, Thor." Hearing his mother sob was the most horrible thing in the Nine Realms. Frigga dipped forward and he wrapped his strong arms around her in response, hugging her tight.

"I want him back too," he croaked, burying his nose in her hair.

"He's been so stupid!" Frigga cried into his chest. "So, so stupid…" she took a shaky breath. "But he's not a bad person…I _know_ he's not a bad person…"

Thor didn't cry. He acted as a supporting post, caressing his mother. Thor couldn't show emotion, couldn't show need. How could he act on his emotions' behalf when everybody else needed so much? He couldn't be selfish, and so he stood, never letting her go.

"I know, mother. I know."

If only he hadn't known so little, all those years ago.

**~O~**

"_Sir, wouldn't it be more practical if you simply woke him up?_"

"Shhhh, JARVIS. Yes, it would, but Loki needs to sleep." Tony grunted as he slid his other foot underneath the heavy god's body, wiggling it out until it reached fresh air. Now his legs were twisted to the side and he still had the whole of his body to go.

"_Really Sir, I'm sure Mr Odinson wouldn't find if_-"

"SHHH!"

A wiggle of a shoulder.

A gentle shove.

Almost there…

"The guy tried to kill himself yesterday JARV," Tony managed to get out, still struggling. "I'm not a doctor, but I do know that sleeping is good for the mind and shit." With a final grunt he slipped from under Loki and went tumbling to the ground, non-too quietly at that. Wincing he climbed to his feet, rubbing his shoulder. _It's always that same shoulder_…

Loki was still fast asleep. Tony smiled with satisfaction and happily strolled out of the bedroom. "Anything on today?"

"_Yes Sir. James Rhodes has his anniversary for being in the US Air Force for five years. To celebrate there is a party occurring at No. 8 on 357 16__th__ street_."

"Whoa, how'd Rhodey get a place like that?" he mumbled, impressed. "Mark us down as going."

"_Us, Sir_?"

"Yeah…you think I'm leaving Loki at home to miss out on the joys of partying in New York?" He could tell JARVIS was wanting to bring up the fact that Loki at Rhodey's party was probably one of the worst ideas he'd had since last time he took Loki out to a social gathering. Instead he was met with a notable sigh and he smiled, stopping by the living room to gaze over to where the kitchen was. He didn't feel hungry today. Maybe he'd attempt at cooking Loki some breakfast when he woke up. Eggs Benedict couldn't be _that_ hard to make, right? Right.

After watching some lazy day time TV Tony finally figured out that being productive mightn't hurt too much, so he headed down to his workshop. Not surprisingly, only after coming up with the idea a few days prior, his 'coding' theory was well under way of becoming a reality. He had worked out all the anatomy stuff (like making sure he didn't shoot a fucking hole in well needed muscle tissue and bone marrow) and now all he had to do was make around fifty micro coding tablets and link them to each individual piece of his suit. Easy.

Around half an hour into his tinkering his phone went off. He guessed he hadn't been social for a while now and reasoned with himself to finally put his tools down, though not bothering to pull off his goggles and whipped his phone out.

Pepper was calling. He teethed on the idea of leaving it, but decided against it. He put the phone on loudspeaker and chucked it on the work bench, continuing with his project. "Hey Pep," he said casually. "How's the meeting going?"

"_Actually a thousand times better. The plane wasn't delayed after all!_"

"Hey, that's great, so- wait what?" Tony pulled his goggles up and stared at the phone with an incredulous look.

"_The plane wasn't delayed after all_," Pepper repeated. "_I can be back to pick up your dry cleaning in about one or two days_." He could see her witty smile but he was too busy drowning in regret. _Oh god…Pepper's going to come back…and completely __**freak**__. What do I do? Holy shit what do I __**do**__?_

"Um…"

"_What's wrong? I thought you'd be pleased_." He swore there was nothing worse than hearing Pepper disappointed. He wiped his face over, exhaling strongly.

"Um…ohhhh boy…uh, Pep, what if I was to say that I…well, first of all, how well are you with surprises?"

It took a few moments before he even heard a stir on the other end. No doubt she was stumped by the question.

"_Uhhh, well I did walk in on your Iron Man secret. Did I handle that well_?"

"Yeah, you handled it great, but, um…think a little bigger then that…" Tony bit his lip.

"_Tony, what's going on?_" Scratch that last statement- hearing Pepper worried was the worst thing ever. Tony bit down on his knuckles before answering.

"I have a…_big_ surprise for you, when you get back. Big surprise. Big one. Biggy. So…you might want to be prepared in advance." A nervous chuckle sounded from the phone.

"_If it's some sort of gift, Tony, then you know I'll always appreciate the thought_."

"Mmmhm," he strangled out. "Good to know."

"_Okay, I have to go to another meeting now quickly. Bye, Tony_."

"Bye." He quickly exited the call as if the technology was lava. He stood there for a bit, thinking over the giant muddle he was in. _Loki's probably not anywhere near the end of his heat…oh god…_It's been a long time since he didn't know what to do. He clenched the side of the work bench, brows crunched in useless thought.

"What to do…" Nothing seemed to pop to mind. Not that there was much time to think, because JARVIS was suddenly urgently speaking in his ear.

"_Sir, there's been a major disturbance with Loki._" It took a few seconds for his brain to understand the information given him.

"…What?"

"_My diagnostic is that he's experiencing a severe panic attack_."

"_**What**_?"

"_He's expe_-"

"No, no, I heard you, that was out of shock," he blurted, throwing his goggles off his head and racing to the stairs.

**~O~**

_Peace_.

He was at peace.

He was comfortable, his mind was at ease and he was alone.

Wait.

Alone? Wasn't he with someone? He stretched out his arms in all directions, absently searching for some kind of body. He couldn't feel anyone, just empty space.

_EMPTYALONEsoaloneCOLDSPACEWORMHOLESUCKEDINTONOTHIN G no loki COLDSOCOLDALONEALONE_

He tried opening his eyes, but he couldn't. They were glued to his skin.

_Darkness. No escape. You belong to darkness_.

_ALONEalonealoneALONEsoalone_

He tried to speak but his tongue was nailed to the bottom of his jaw.

_You only speak lies. No one needs to hear them. No one cares what you have to say_.

_ALONEaloneALONENOONELOVESYOU_

He pressed the palms of his hands into his sockets, withering on the bed. A monster was inside him, clawing at his eyes, at his mind, at his tongue. God it was _killing_ him.

_DARKNESSNOONELOVESYOUALONEFORVERalonealonealoneDON THURTMEPLEASEstopSTOPITHURTSSTOP_

He was grinding his teeth together, drool carelessly dribbling down his chin as he rolled off the side of the mattress. He dug his nails into his eyelids. He needed it to go away, he needed it to _stop_.

_Not a son of Asgard_.

_NEVERLOVEDYOUneverNEVERUNLOVEDalways_

_Not a son of Jotunhiem_.

_COLDCOLDcoldSOBLUETONYTONYHELPMEHELPbastardsonCOLD SHIVERING_

_Then what are you, Loki_?

_ALONEalonealoneALONEaloneALONEALONEALONEalone_

He screamed, prying his eyes open. Where was he?

_Dark craters, nothingness, blackness, dungeons, chambers_-

He reached out, gripping the ground and sliding himself forward. He needed to get away. He needed to get away from _it_. He needed-

Suddenly he was crawling on all fours towards a black throne, not daring to look up because all that existed was _pain_.

_I never wanted the throne_.

He was in Asgard before his trial, getting hit from the numerous objects thrown at him, leering away from the snarls.

_I only ever wanted to be your equal_.

"Loki!"

He was a boy, waking up on a hunting trip to find out everyone had gone, had _left_ him there.

_You are our son, Loki_.

"_Loki!_"

_liesliesLIESLIESLIESliessomanylies_

"LOKI!"

He was being cut open, proving he was ugly on the inside even more than his other layers, hearing laughter all around him and thinking how it wasn't that different from home after all-

Someone was shaking him.

Hands were wrapped around his shoulders firmly and were _shaking_ him.

_ITSGOTMEitsgotmeHELPHELPFIGHTBACKFIGHTFIGHTNOMORE stop HELPITHURTS NO_

"Hey, hey, HEY!"

His clouded vision was like fog slowly clearing out. Suddenly there was a face in front of him. A normal face. Not a monster. Not a mirror.

"Loki, breathe! Breathe, just breathe!"

He'd heard the voice before. A voice he had claimed as his property. He let it guide him, only obeying what it said.

He breathed. Slowly.

In.

Out.

"Better, better, just breathe…okay, just breathe…all you have to do is breathe, nothing else."

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Stark. Stark was holding him. He was looking straight at him. No monsters. No tortures. He was here with him and he was safe. Loki swallowed, head snapping back to reality and noticing the mess he'd made of himself. Drool was coaxing the sides of his mouth and he could feel the unpleasant sensation of freezing sweat on his brow. He couldn't tell if the water streaking down his face was the perspiration or tears.

In.

Out.

His head cleared. Everything cleared. He looked around, eyes as wide as saucers. The blanket was strewn all over the floor and his shirt was drenched. He slowly tried getting up, only resulting in his shaky limbs giving up and Tony darting forward to stop him from falling. "S…" he swallowed a few times, draining the horrible flavour in his mouth. "St…"

He pushed Stark off him and half-crawled-half-stumbled into the bathroom, ignoring whatever Tony was telling him from behind him. He fell onto the porcelain rim two seconds before he was hurling his guts into the bowel. He heard Stark walk up beside him and saw him kneel form the corner of his eye. Soon enough a comforting hand was upon his back. Well, it would've been comforting if he didn't at that moment feel like he had been hit by two trucks and then eaten as much as Vostagg did in a week in one meal. Finally, when his stomach was completely empty, he rested his head on the seat and continued to breathe.

In.

Out.

"Good, good…" he heard Stark say, his hand on his back giving a consolatory rub. He choked on his breath.

"You _left me_," he bit out finally. Stark reeled back a tad.

"Left you? Loki, I was just in my workshop. JARVIS, do a check-up."

"_Mr Odinson's condition has returned to normal, though the after-shock is currently taking place_." Loki didn't hear any of it. He just couldn't shake the feeling of being desolate.

"You _left me_, Stark, I was _alone_."

"You know I wouldn't do that, you're going through after-shock." Loki snarled, pushing him away. His head hit the tiled wall, hard.

"You said you would protect me from him," he tried to yell but it came out as a husky whisper. Tony didn't seemed frazzled by the mention of the War Lord. Loki was then reminded of the fact that Tony had no idea what he vowed to fight against.

"And I will," he reassured. Loki shook his head, pulling his knees up as a defensive barrier.

"But you weren't _there_," he hissed.

"Loki-"

"No, you weren't there!

"Loki jus-"

"NO, YOU'LL NEVER BE THERE!"

"Just _calm down_-"

"NO ONE WILL EVER BE THERE-!" This time Loki was the one being cut off because in one swift movement Tony aggressively pulled him towards him, wrapping his feeble, _mortal_ arms around him. It wasn't a hug. He could tell the distinct difference. It was more of a…hold. Just holding him. His body shook with emotion. He hated Stark right now, hated everybody, but his hand gripped tight and he didn't know why. A catch in his throat turned into a sob. "I don't want to be alone…I don't want to be alone…I don't want to be alone…" he was chanting it into his shoulder and he didn't know if he was telling Stark or himself. The arms around him locked into place, becoming walls, a shell.

"You won't be, okay? Not while I'm alive."

Death is the last thing Loki remembers thinking about before be succumbed to darkness.

**~O~**

Well fuck.

Tony thought that maybe Loki was on the way to recovering, but now he knows that that bag in Loki's head wasn't full of cats, but snakes. A panic attack. It was obviously triggered by his sentencing, being cast out from his home. '_I don't want to be alone_'. Loki thought he was abandoned by everyone. Did being alone really scare him that much?

Then Tony got thinking. Loki's emotional journey so far has been one punch after the other. From Asgard, to whatever the fuck happened to him in the void of space, to Midgard, Loki has been running non-stop. Like drinking to keep from getting a hangover, he was constantly fighting back at his emotions, causing new ones to uprise. So now, finally coming to a stop…

Loki's emotions were overflowing. It was only a matter of time before he had a break down.

Tony left a soaked cloth upon Loki's forehead before walking out the bedroom, hoping not to wake him for the second time that morning. _No, afternoon_, he noted, glancing to the clock that read 1PM. He wanted to go down to his workshop again, but the dread and guilt were like anvils in his stomach. What if Loki had another attack and he was distracted by his suits again? Pretty shitty move. He glanced to the kitchen. _Now_, he thought,_ I am hungry_.

It was three hours and Tony was sitting lazily on his couch, flicking mindlessly through programs. His mind was reeling about Rhodey's anniversary. He definitely couldn't leave Loki alone for even more reasons than before now. _Rhodey wouldn't really expect me to come…right? Knowing about Loki, he probably would make sure I didn't come if he could_. Still, feeling like a bad friend hurt.

He heard footsteps and twisted around. Loki's eyes were still a little red and he'd changed into his only remaining shirt- they grey one. He looked completely and utterly fed up. Not just tired, but like everyone in the world suddenly paid out his hair. Which, in all honesty, Tony thought was fabulous.

"Hey," he said, "how are you feeling?"

"Please don't ask me that," he snapped, walking towards him. Tony put his hands up in surrender.

"Just asking…" Loki mumbled something he couldn't hear and sat very un-prince like next to him. He rolled his head to the side to see Tony's half eaten beef sandwich and snatched it up, stuffing his face. Tony gave him judging look. "That's cool, not like I was eating that or anything." Loki curtly swallowed.

"Good." The chewing of meat and toasted bread met his ears once more. He rolled his eyes and sighed, looking back to the TV. He felt almost silly for expecting a thank you for keeping him from choking on his own vomit or having a heart attack. Nope, apparently that was too lowly for someone like Loki. Still, he found himself slyly studying his face. Breathing was normal, good. Eyes didn't seem to be dilated and his skin wasn't damp. All good points. "Stop looking at me, Stark." Tony blinked as Loki finished off the sandwich and dusted his hands of the crumbs.

"I'm just checking to see if you're okay."

"You don't trust my own conclusive opinion?"

"No." Green eyes met his face, skewing and burrowing under his skin. "You're far too self-destructive right now."

"You think I haven't been before?" Loki's eyes narrowed. He gestured to the windows. "Before Midgard, before New York? I've lived several times worth your life, I know how to take care of myself."

"And look where that care has led you," Tony remarked. "You destroyed some of New Mexico, you fell into space, started an invasion and-" A fist came down to punch the sofa cushion.

"State your soul point of argument, Stark." Loki's teeth bared and his voice came out as a growl. Tony snapped his mouth shut and the two were cast in silence for a few seconds, the only noise being the TV program in the background.

"I just want to…" he flailed his hand, mirroring the sudden uselessness of his brain as he tried to search for some way to say it without sounding like it came out of the sappiest chick-flick ever. "…Keep you safe." Oh, he failed epically. But maybe chick-flick is what Loki needed because the stiff hostility simmered a little from his shoulders. "And don't say you don't need my help, because we all know how much of a fibby that one is."

That must've chipped something because a heavy portion of the walls around Loki crumbled down. His posture sagged and he slumped against the couch. He rubbed his temple, letting out an exhausted sigh. "I just…feel..."

_Tired? Angry? Lethargic?_ Loki didn't finish and Tony completely understood. Mood swings were all the rage in his head right now. "Do you need anything?" was the least he could ask. Loki stared at the ceiling for a good two minutes, thumb and forefinger battling it out with each other. After a few more moments he suddenly sprung upwards and got to his feet.

"I want to go out."

Tony blinked.

"What?"

"Out. I need to, this mansion is suffocating." He straightened out his shirt and turned to Tony expectantly. _Since when is __**he**__ the one dragging __**me**__ out_?

"Um, I don't think that's the best idea considering your mental state right now."

"Weren't you the one who said getting out of the house was good for you in the first place?" Well, he had him on that one. Tony looked at him and sighed.

"Okay, fine, fine…there is actually a party down on in New York tonight but-"

"Excellent, get your stuff." He was practically springing through the walls and Tony had to quickly chase after him when he began walking to the door.

"Hey, slow down!" he said. "It's Rhodey's party, so I don't think you being there is a very good idea." Loki turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll be good?" he offered lamely. Tony gave him a trying look.

"What if you go into another session again?"

"There are drinks there, aren't they?" he said in an obvious tone.

"You can't blame everything on the alcohol, Loki."

"Why not? You mortals are very fond of it and most of you are simple minded enough to believe it." They stared each other off for a few stubborn moments before Tony sighed hotly.

"JARVIS, get the car ready," he growled.

"_Right away Sir_."

Loki flashed a grin. "I'll get the suits."

**~O~**

This had bad idea written all over it. Maybe even a few days ago Tony would've gone for that sort of thing but this time it was different. Loki was staring dead straight ahead and hadn't talked since he started the car. He obviously still hadn't recovered from his panic attack and was trying to do what he'd been doing all along- running away from his emotions. He dreaded what mixing that and the social environment of New York night life would do. Something was going to blow up in their faces.

Yet Tony kept driving because he felt stuck. Being responsible over Loki was really taking its turn on his mentality. _I want to go to Rhodey's party and be a good friend but I don't want to leave Loki alone, but if Loki comes with me then he could cause a lot of shit, but if we both stay at the mansion which is a destructive environment right now then I would just feel uneasy_. Maybe this was actually good for both of them. Having a few drinks and relaxing with other people who didn't feel like were holding a gun to their back. He'd just have to cross his fingers and wait.

The drive wasn't that long thanks to Tony's anxious driving and at around five they pulled up to No. 8. Or at least he thinks it was No. 8. All he saw was a door jammed between a hotel and another joint, but the huge body guards standing outside was a good enough clue. He turned to Loki, eyes drinking in the sight of him back in his newly washed and pressed suit.

"Okay, disguise?" Loki gave him a look.

"I took care of that before we got in the car." Tony smiled at the reminder that only he could actually see Loki for what he was. Loki didn't need that to happen, Tony could just get used to his other face. For some reason it made him feel special. But the thought passed and his face turned hard.

"Remember, no insulting people, killing people or tortu-" Loki's shoulders stiffed.

"Please don't say those words," he snapped. Tony blinked.

"What? Are they triggers?" He nodded curtly. "You didn't tell me you now have triggers! We're going to a room full of people, all sorts of words are gonna pop up and you still want to go through with this?"

"Since when do those words pop up in general conversation among people who attend this sort of party?" Loki almost snickered (his mood probably wasn't quite there yet).

"Never judge immediately or go into situations blinded- which is exactly what we're doing right now," Tony said, nervously adjusting his suit tie.

"Would you look at the famous Tony Stark," Loki mused, "scared of a party, the very thing he breathes."

"I'm just worried about you," he attempted to point out in a casual tone. Loki studied him for a few moments before clicking the car door open. No answer came and Tony huffed out an annoyed sigh before following him. They stepped up onto the side walk, ears flinching to the clicks and flashes of hidden paparazzi. They approached the two bouncers, Tony slightly intimidated.

"Mr Stark," one greeted in a much higher and more flamboyant voice then he expected, flashing a grin. Gotta love surprises. They stepped to the side and they both attempted to step through, though Loki was harshly stopped by a hand to the chest. His eyes flared up and Tony could see the immediate fight or flight responses working through his brain. The 'fight' option seemed to be winning so he quickly stepped forward.

"Whoa guys, he's with me."

"Does he have an invite?" the other asked in the deep, demanding voice Tony had first expected.

"I'm a very close friend of the host. Besides, the invite said couples allowed too, so…" he finished with a shrug. The bouncers look to each other and gave a blunt nod, standing to the side once more. Loki angrily straightened his suit jacket, glaring at them as he passed through the doors.

"Keep your cool," Tony whispered to him as they walked down the narrow hall.

"He touched me," Loki said with much disgust. Tony rolled his eyes and pushed open a set of frosted double doors.

_Wow_. His eyes widened in appreciation. The place was amazing, filled with curved lounges adorned in butter cream leather and cherry wood bars. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and everyone was dressed to the highest standard. Banners saying 'HAPPY ANNIVERSARY' reached across the room and a grand cake was laid on one of the tables.

Rhodey, standing in his own sleek suit and standing with a small helping of people was suddenly tapped by one who pointed out Tony's arrival. The Cornel turned around and as soon as their eyes met a mix of emotions passed over his face. He excused himself and walked over, champagne glass in hand.

"You actually came," he said, somewhat impressed.

"How could I miss out on my best friend's big night?" Tony said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder. "Congratulations, buddy." Rhodey smiled and his eyes slid over to Loki. Obviously recognizing him from the charity event, he immediately knew who it was. His face turned into one of bother.

"And I see you've also brought…Loki," he addressed in a low voice, giving a nervous glance around the room.

"Don't worry yourself- I am equipped with a disguise spell," Loki said smoothly, offering his hand out. Rhodey ignored the gesture, giving Tony a frustrated look.

"So not only did you bring a maniac to my party, you brought him with his magic fully adapt. Smart, Tony."

"He was completely adept at the charity event," Tony tried to reason. "And he-"

"And he scratched me across the face."

"That's healed really nicely, actually."

"_Tony_."

"That wasn't his magic!" he argued. "That was just the heat stuff."

"I don't care what it was, he's a potential threat." If Tony was looking he'd see Loki watching the bickering with his glorious bitch face, arms folded tightly with one eyebrow raised.

"He's more civilized now, Rhodey, I promise. And if anything happens out of the ordinary, I will take full blame. I'll be the raunchy friend who doesn't know when enough is enough as always and you walk away Jesus. Okay?" They stared each other off, one pair of eyes pleading while the other judgemental. After a quick glance to Loki, Rhodey finally pulled back.

"Fine. Just try and act normal," he said, sipping his champagne and walking back to the group of people. Tony let out a long sigh, cheeks red from pressure. Loki looked to him with a cock of his brow.

"Well. That went well."

**~O~**

Stark had gone off to mingle with other people and Loki found if he wasn't in the same room then the spikes of jealousy would soon numb. Much to his hesitance he was pulled into a conversation with a few other mortals, not really paying much attention to any of them, especially the charming female one who was perhaps trying to form some sort of relationship with him.

This wasn't going the way he wanted it to. He wanted his mind to be completely numb. He didn't want to think about how much he missed his mother and how much that wouldn't matter since they'd never meet each other's company again. He didn't want to think about how wrong it felt to leave Thor and him on an unfinished resolution. Not pure enemies, yet no longer brothers. He didn't want to think about how tempted he was to accept Stark's offer last night. '_Do you want it to be…?_' He'd never been courted before, a fact that used to marrow depression into his bones when he was younger. He thought he had gotten over the juvenile desire long ago, but last night proved him wrong.

This night was supposed to make him forget all that. But all he could think about was Frigga and if Tony was having more success being calm than him in the other room.

"Well, Tom?" Loki flinched at his alias, turning around with a mild clouding around his brain. The small group of people- one man with a woman on his shoulder, one standing alone and the talkative female- drew their attention to him.

"Hm?" he hummed in question, tone flatter than he'd intended. One man, head sprouting black curls, gestured to the other room.

"You and Mr Stark. You're a couple, yes?" They all gave questioning looks and Loki had to keep himself from snapping '_you mortals really don't know how to mind your own business_.' Instead he grinned, thought _oh Hel with it_, and answered with,

"Of course." They seemed very accepting of this fact which made Loki appreciate the far more civil nature of the Midgardians. Friendly and weak to the point of adorableness, but accepting, which was something the Asgardians weren't fond of.

"I always thought Tony was quite the womanizer," one of the women with shiny blonde hair smirked into her champagne glass. "I guess he was just finding himself." She lifted her head to meet his eyes. "Hopefully he'll respect a man more than he respects some women."

"Mmm," the other elegantly dressed and golden haired female agreed, quickly swallowing her mouthful of alcohol. "Did you hear how he came onto Pepper Potts?" The piece of gossip made them intrigued and Loki had to hide his eye-roll.

"No, what happened?"

"He ignores her for ages and then when she suits up in a dress with no back- which looked so gorgeous by the way, I'm so jealous- he goes up to her a tries to suck on her mouth!" Disgusted looks passed over all their faces. Loki felt something in his stomach flare up. Who were they to go by what stupid mortals who so happened to have cameras at the right moment say? Stark was far from the confident, scandalous playboy everyone seemed to talk him up to be. He was just…lonely.

Loki squeezed his eyes shut. _He's the man who ruined your plans for world domination and you're __**defending**__ him_? He tried to give his attention to the conversation again.

"Pfft," one of the men chortled, "What would you expect? The guys the biggest douche bag of this century."

Ok, now Loki was getting pissed off.

He glared maliciously, green irises burning through the disguised blue ones. One of the women noticed his discomfort and cleared her throat. "Maybe you shouldn't talk that way about Tony in front of his partner. You don't want to upset Tom," she mumbled. The man gave an impervious gesture.

"Upset him? I'll be helping him!" He took a very unwanted step towards Loki, who's shoulders tensed. "Look," the stench of alcohol invaded his nose, "trust me on this one- Stark's a pig. He'll treat you like a princess and all that but in the end you're just another fling." The other men gave a small cheer and a laugh and the cocky man raised his small bottle of Jack Daniels and took a glug. Loki stared at the bottle and smirked, loosening his tight posture.

After a few seconds of drinking the man's eyes suddenly puffed up with red and water. He coughed, bringing the bottle away from his lips like lightening. He passed, or rather threw, the bottle at his friend and began fanning into his open mouth. Confused murmurs arose and Loki's smirk only grew. "SHIT!" he wheezed. "What the fuck happened to my drink?!"

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"NO! Someone's replaced my drink with fucking LAVA or something!" He continued to cough, keeling over until his friends began leading him off to the bathroom. Loki was _so_ close to laughing, until he said it. "Jesus CHRIST! This is fucking torture!"

Torture.

_Torture_.

_PAINpainpainHELPPLEASEHURTSBLACKDARKNEESpainTORTUR EtortureTORTURE_

Loki's eyes widened and his heart missed a couple of beats. _Oh gods please don't be having another attack_, he thought bitterly. Going through that hell again seemed unbearable.

He quickly fled towards the stairs that led to an impressive library one floor up, but ended up crashing into the wooden bar, spluttering from the sudden dryness in his throat. The bar tender watched his struggle with uncertainty until Loki looked to him with a glare. "Drink," he wheezed, his voice coming out as a gravely hiss.

"Of what?" came the timid question.

"Anything!" A tall glass of golden liquid was pushed in front of him and he eagerly lapped it up. His throat was blissfully coaxed in the honeyed drink, and he felt the slightest bubble in his head. He finished the drink in four seconds flat, making the young bartender's eyes widen. Loki paid him no heed, sitting and studying the glass. Perhaps this was the numbing he'd been craving. He'd always been quite horrible when it came to holding his mead because he had it in portions much smaller than the others in Asgard. He hated to waste his brain cells on something so primitive. But…did any of that even really _matter_ anymore?

_No. It doesn't_.

He gestured for another round.

**~O~**

Tony was actually having a delightful time. The company was intelligent and perky and it was good to catch up with Rhodey. Every now and then there was that small buzz at the back of his head telling him that he should be remembering someone, but no faces popped up.

Speaking of buzzes…

He sipped his glass of scotch gleefully, taking the time to breathe in the scent and pull away to laugh at someone's joke. He missed these times, going to parties, able to have any girl he pleased. Though it had simmered down to just enjoying the party rather than being the life of it, he wanted to do these things more often.

He was snapped out of his happy thoughts by a tap to the shoulder. He turned to see a young woman in her twenties and dressed in a stunning red dress with jade ear-rings. "Why hello," he smiled. She didn't offer her own greeting, just leaning in close to his ear.

"Mr Stark, uh, your friend is causing a bit of disruption in the bar room," she whispered. _Friend? What frien…_

_Oh shit. Loki_.

His goofy grin fell into a face of regret and urgency. He didn't bother excusing himself from the large group, pushing past other people to swing open the door that led into the desired room.

Oh god.

Loki was giggling like an idiot, bent over the green felt pool table. The few people in the room were looking either unimpressed or amused at the behaviour. Tony raced over to the chuckling god, roughly pulling him to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and his stance was shaking. "Unbelievable," he muttered. He glanced to the bartender. "How much did you give him?" he snapped. The tender gestured wildly.

"I told him he'd had enough! He just kept leaning over and taking more!"

"And you _let_ _him_?"

"Hey, he's freakishly strong, okay?"

Tony huffed, tugging on Loki's suit jacket. _Just when I was enjoying myself_…

"Where are we going Tony?" Loki giggled, swaying as Tony led him out.

"You are so un-fucking-believable," Tony growled, wincing as he led Loki out into the other, very populated room. Rhodey took one look at the two of them and sent them a look that screamed _are you fucking serious_?

"James!" Loki called ambiguously, causing people to twist their heads around to see what was going on. Loki ripped his arm away from Tony who cursed. He leaned dangerously close to his face. "I'm soooo_oo_ sorry for scratching you and humiliating you in front of everyone."

_This can't be happening_.

The glare Rhodey aimed at Tony breathed murder. Loki burst into uncontained laughter and Tony quickly dragged him out of the Coronel's personal space and shoved him into the quiet and thankfully desolate entrance hall. "Oooo…" Loki slurred. "Nice and quiet for us, hmm?"

Tony rolled his eyes. Before he opened the door to get the hell out of there he turned to Loki with a raised finger. Loki gave him a mocking puppy dog look. "Are you going to scold me, Stark?"

"You are in so much shit right now I don't even know where to beg-"

He was abruptly cut off by Loki kissing him on the lips.

He stood there for a few seconds until he realized what was happening and quickly shoved Loki off, wiping his mouth and cringing. "What the _fuck_?" he yelled.

"Oh come on…" a bit of sober Loki shone through as his voice wasn't as slurred. "Let's just get it over with and move on with our lives…" He made a move towards him again but Tony raised his hand and slapped him across the cheek. "OW!" He knew it didn't hurt him, but the god pouted anyway. "Tonyyyyyyy," he whined, rubbing his cheek. Tony glared, grabbing his wrist and finally tugging him out of the club and straight towards the car. Tony opened the back seat door, throwing Loki in and angrily getting in the front seat himself.

As he drove he listened to the sound of Loki's giggles and laughter as he laid on the leather, the joyful noises slowly twisting into sobs and crying. Random screams about suicide, tortures and Odin polluted his ears and Tony had to keep himself from wanting to throw up just to see Loki this way.

After a few minutes more of driving the sobbing and screaming suddenly stopped and Tony thought stupidly that maybe Loki had randomly died from alcohol poisoning. But no, Loki was a god and the booze was already I the final stages of processing. A few sickened moans arose and Tony frowned, looking in the back mirror. Loki was caved in on himself, arms wrapped tightly around his stomach. "…Are you okay?"

Loki's foot smashed against the car door and he quickly shook his head. Tony, with all his dread, saw his cheeks fill.

_Crap_.

With expertise he spun the car around and screeched to a stop in an almost empty take out joint. Loki quickly leapt out the back seat, walking over to a narrow garden bed and hurling out his guts. Tony winced at the noise, clicking his door open and walking around to watch from behind. Loki gasped in a breath, trying to stand up but ending up falling against the hood of the car. He breathed harshly, chest heaving. Tony shoved a hand in his pocket, leaning against the vehicle. "Can you see straight?" he asked almost mockingly. Loki gasped in a few more breaths.

"Shu…shut _up_…"

"Oh good, you're sobering up." Loki glared before turning back to throw up some more. Okay, Tony started feeling the pity now. What a fucked up day. _Panic attacks…emotional meltdowns and now getting drunk of his face…damn_. He sighed, walking up to his side and placing a hand on his back, something that'd become some sort of tradition. Loki tried to shove him off but failed epically. "How are you puking this much? You didn't even eat anything today…oh yeah, you had _my_ sandwich…" Loki finally finished up and leaned against the car, exhausted. Tony gave him a look of sympathy. "Are you okay?" Loki waved him off but Tony pestered on. "No, seriously." He looked him in the eye. "I'm not angry about the party. I know you're tired. I _know_. And I'm sorry."

Water built up in Loki's eyes but he thinks he'd cried all the tears possible. He smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on." He nudged his head towards the take out joint. "Let's finally get some food in that belly."

"Where?" Loki's voice was dry and worn out and that fed-up look was in his eyes again, though it had more of a '_why was I born_' touch to it now.

"Macdonald's. Greasy food is always great to get rid of hangovers." Loki looked down self-consciously at his ruffled suit and Tony got the message. He stepped forward and smoothed his semi-short hair back and straightened out his jacket. His eyes were still red and puffy and his hair wasn't even close to tame despite his efforts, it would have to do. "There. All better," he smiled.

He led Loki into the white and red tilted joint, Loki still a little wobbly on his feet. He sat him down at a small table and went and bought two meals after the cash register guy got over the fact that Tony Stark was standing in front of him. When the meal was done he set the tray down in front of the god and chuckled at the sudden disgust that came across his face. "This is considered food?" he mumbled, picking up the wrapped burger as if it were a dead animal.

"Un-wrap it first," Tony said, reaching forward and ripping the paper off of it, revealing the not too impressive food inside. He nudged it towards him, but Loki decided to sip on his coke instead, trying a fry. Meanwhile, Tony was stuffing his face. He barely had anything that day either and take-out food, though not a change from his regular diet, was just what he needed.

They ate in pleasant silence for a few minutes, Loki ending up leaving his food and staring off into the distance instead. Tony paid to heed, taking some of Loki's chips and eating them himself. He told him a few times to at least try the burger, but Loki mumbled lame complaints and left it at that. They were quiet for a few minutes before Loki spoke.

"I have nothing left."

Tony paused mid chew, his eyes flicking up to look at Loki who was giving him a very concentrating stare. "I don't have anything left…but you." Loki looked down to his untouched burger, swallowing. "No one else." Tony finally found the feeling in his body and chewed the rest of his mouthful.

"I'm sorry, is this a happy realization for you?"

"Happy?" Loki made a face. "You're a mortal man Stark. I can outlive you by centuries and your body can't even take a fall of a mere three stories anyway…" he rested his head on his palm, glancing to the side. "Besides," he sighed, "when this is all over…we'll go back to our normal ways…and I'll be alone."

Alone. There's that dreaded word again. Tony felt the heavy weight of confession on his shoulders. For someone like Loki to not only realize he was the only thing left in his life but to admit it as well was a big deal. Tony cleared his throat a little awkwardly.

"Uh…if you, you know, want to stay with me….after the whole heat thing is over…" he wiped his mouth with a napkin, finishing up his meal, "that'd be cool, you know. I mean, Pepper would probably kill me, but…I dunno, it's your choice." He scratched the back of his head. Loki looked at him with an array of emotions ranging from dubious to flattered.

"SHIELD would find out about me."

"But just imagine that they weren't, forget about them," Tony waved the comment off. "Just imagine everything was good for once. Would you want to stay with me?"

A few moments they stared until Loki actually smiled, looking to the ground. "It's a charming offer, Stark-"

"Tony."

"What?"

"For the love of god, we've cuddled in bed, I've took you to a carnival and you just drunkenly kissed me an hour ago, we have to be on a first name basis." Loki looked a little confronted, but the smile returned.

"Okay, _Tony_, it's a charming offer, but…I don't think…" he sighed. "I don't think that we'd make a very civilized mix." Tony stared at him and had to keep himself from starting an entire argument on what Loki just said because he knew it'd turn into a scenario of him begging Loki to stay with him. _Nope, gotta keep my cool_. He smiled at him instead, reaching out and taking his burger and biting into it.

"There," he mumbled through chunks of beef patty and lettuce. He passed the food back and swallowed. "I took a bite, now you take a bite."

"I'm not a child, Tony."

"Of course you are. We're both children, just I've got the balls to say it." Loki gave him a flat look, but took the burger anyway. Squeezing his eyes closed he quickly bite further into Tony's bite, leaving Tony slightly surprised. It was a small detail- usually people would look for an untouched area of food. _Booyeah, bonding moment_. He waited for Loki's reaction as the god swallowed. Loki studied the food for a moment before finishing it in four chomps. Wiping his mouth with his jacket sleave he pushed the empty tray towards a gaping Tony.

"I want three more."

_Spoilt bastard_.

**No. 8 is a real place I researched. It looks so classy and snazzy and…there's a LIABRARY ABOVE IT. OH. MY. GOD.**

**I'm so sorry for the ridiculous length.**


End file.
